means A hard or chewy confection made by boiling sugar (often with butter and sometimes molasses or treacle) until it caramelizes and sets.

from An English word from the early 1800s, recorded first as 'taffy' and soon respelled 'toffee' — the two are essentially the same sweet under different spellings. Where 'taffy' itself comes from is genuinely uncertain; etymologists shrug and call it origin unknown, with no convincing root behind it.