From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Treacle \Trea"cle\ (tr[=e]"k'l), noun [OE. triacle a sovereign remedy, theriac, OF. triacle, F. th['e]riaque (cf. Pr. triacla, tiriaca, Sp. & It. triaca, teriaca), L. theriaca an antidote against the bite of poisonous animals, Gr. ?, fr. ? of wild or venomous beasts, fr. qhri'on a beast, a wild beast, dim. of qh'r a beast. Cf. {Theriac}.]
1. (Old Med.) A remedy against poison. See {Theriac}, 1.
We kill the viper, and make treacle of him. --Jer. Taylor.
2. A sovereign remedy; a cure. [Obs.]
Christ which is to every harm treacle. --Chaucer.
3. Molasses; sometimes, specifically, the molasses which drains from the sugar-refining molds, and which is also called {sugarhouse molasses}.
Note: In the United States molasses is the common name; in England, treacle.
4. A saccharine fluid, consisting of the inspissated juices or decoctions of certain vegetables, as the sap of the birch, sycamore, and the like.
{Treacle mustard} (Bot.), a name given to several species of the cruciferous genus {Erysimum}, especially the {Erysimum cheiranthoides}, which was formerly used as an ingredient in Venice treacle, or theriac.
{Treacle water}, a compound cordial prepared in different ways from a variety of ingredients, as hartshorn, roots of various plants, flowers, juices of plants, wines, etc., distilled or digested with Venice treacle. It was formerly regarded as a medicine of great virtue. --Nares.
{Venice treacle}. (Old Med.) Same as {Theriac}, 1.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: a pale cane syrup [syn: {golden syrup}]
2: an expression that is excessively sweet and sentimental [syn: {mush}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
71 Moby Thesaurus words for "treacle": albumen, ambrosia, artificial sweetener, batter, blackstrap, bonnyclabber, butter, calcium cyclamate, cane syrup, clabber, clover honey, comb honey, corn syrup, cornstarch, cream, curd, cyclamates, dough, edulcoration, egg white, gaum, gel, gelatin, glair, glop, glue, gluten, goo, gook, goop, gruel, gumbo, gunk, honey, honeycomb, honeydew, honeypot, jam, jell, jelly, loblolly, maple syrup, molasses, mucilage, mucus, nectar, pap, paste, porridge, pudding, pulp, puree, putty, rob, saccharification, saccharin, semifluid, semiliquid, size, sodium cyclamate, sorghum, soup, starch, sticky mess, sugar, sugar-making, sugaring off, sweetener, sweetening, sweets, syrup
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