Bain Marie
Preserved but no longer current.
The French name for a double saucepan like a glue-pot. The term is sometimes used in English kitchens. It appears earlier (as in Mrs. Glasse's Cookery Book, 1796) under its Latin name, Balneum Manx, hence the "St. Mary's bath" of Ben Jonson's Alchemist, II, in. The name is supposed to be due to the gentleness of this method of heating.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Bain Marie” mean?
The French name for a double saucepan like a glue-pot. The term is sometimes used in English kitchens. It appears earlier (as in Mrs. Glasse's Cookery Book, 1796) under its Latin name, Balneum Manx, hence the "St. Mary's bath" of Ben Jonson's Alchemist, II, in. The name is supposed to be due to the gentleness of this method of heating.
Is “Bain Marie” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.