albondiga

noun

al·​bon·​di·​ga äl-ˈbōn-dē-gä 

plural albondigas also albondiga

: meatball

… gazpacho garnished with an albondiga … of minced crab and avocado …

—Florence Fabricant

… a quite wonderful albondiga soup—meatballs and vegetables in a deep, full-flavored beef stock.

—Neal O. Weiner and David M. Schwartz

—usually used in plural

The albondigas, made with lamb instead of beef and pork, had excellent flavor …

—Henri Hollis

… albondigas in a Mexican kitchen are typically made with chipotles …

—Sheryl Julian

… pork albondigas soup featuring a delicate bone broth with a lump of steamed rice and two large meatballs.

—Karen Schaffner

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Spanish albóndiga, borrowed from Andalusian Arabic al bunduqa, from Arabic al "the" + bunduqa "hazelnut, small ball," derivative of bunduq "hazelnuts (collective)," borrowed from an Aramaic form akin to Talmudic Aramaic pundĕqi or Syriac pundĕqā "hazelnut," borrowed from Greek (káryon) Pontikón, literally, "Pontic nut"; Pontic "of the Black Sea" ( pontus euxinus)

First Known Use

1872, in the meaning defined above