Tamale

Origin

Back-formation from {{3}} plural tamales, from Spanish tamales, plural of tamal, from Nahuatl ("wrapped").

Full definition of tamale

Noun

1. Mexican dish of cornmeal dough shell filled with various ingredients (e.g. chopped beef, pork, sweet filling) then steamed in corn husks.

Usage notes

The Standard Spanish singular is tamal, and thus some proscribe tamale as an incorrect back-formation, preferring to use tamal as the English singular; note however that tamale exists in Spanish dialect. The similarity of tamale to the ancestral Nahuatl tamalli is not generally cited in support of the English usage of tamale.

Synonyms

• tamal

Derived terms

• hot tamale

Related terms

• tamalera

Anagrams

• malate, meatal