early 15c., confit, "sugarplum, sugary sweet, type of fruit or root preserved with sugar and dried," from Old French confit "preserved fruit," from Latin confectum, from confectionem, noun use of confectus, past participle of conficere "to prepare" (see confection). Forms with -m- appear from mid-15c.
Entries linking to comfit
confection n.
mid-14c., confescioun, confeccioun, "anything prepared by mixing ingredients," from Old French confeccion (12c., Modern French confection) "drawing up (of a treaty, etc.); article, product," in pharmacology, "mixture, compound," from Medieval Latin confectionem (nominative confectio) "a preparation, a medicament," in classical Latin, "a making, a preparing," noun of action from past-participle stem of conficere "to prepare," from assimilated form of com "with" (see con-) + combining form of facere "to make, to do" (from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put").
From early 15c. as "the making by means of ingredients, art or act of compounding different substances into one preparation." In late 14c. also "something prepared or made with sugar or syrup;" sense of "candies, bonbons, light pastry" predominated from 16c.
*dhe-
*dhē-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to set, put."
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit dadhati "puts, places;" Avestan dadaiti "he puts;" Old Persian ada "he made;" Hittite dai- "to place;" Greek tithenai "to put, set, place;" Latin facere "to make, do; perform; bring about;" Lithuanian dėti "to put;" Polish dziać się "to be happening;" Russian delat' "to do;" Old High German tuon, German tun, Old English don "to do."
