Definition of tamale
:cornmeal dough rolled with ground meat or beans seasoned usually with chili, wrapped usually in corn husks, and steamed
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Recent Examples of tamale from the Web
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And, oh, the 3 in 1 stand's tamales, my favorite in Indianapolis.
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Several restaurants have operated in the Parkville building, selling everything from cheesesteaks to gyros to hot tamales.
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The tamales oaxaqueños (masa filled with slow-roasted pork) arrived soon after and fulfilled our need for comfort food on a damp evening.
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At Delta Blues, the Freises make their spicy pork or black bean tamales Mississippi Delta-style.
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Southwest Second Avenue and Stark Street, facebook.com/mamachowskitchen A beloved downtown Portland cart known for its burritos, breakfast plates, sopes, huaraches, tamales and more.
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Cruz quit her job cleaning houses and began selling tamales and horchata out of the home to be able to watch over the kids, who were prohibited from going outside alone.
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Massive stock pots for sale at the front were shiny and tempting, as were the fresh tamales holding court in a warming oven just past the registers.
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Cruz quit her job cleaning houses and began selling tamales and horchata out of the home to be able to watch over the kids, who were prohibited from going outside alone.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tamale.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
tamale Has Origins in South America
Hot tamale is sometimes used figuratively, as in our second example, to suggest sexual attractiveness, but it's the word's literal use that puts it in an interesting category. How many English food words can you name that derive from Nahuatl, a group of languages spoken by native peoples of Mexico and Central America? You've probably guessed that "tamale" gives you one; it came to us (by way of Mexican Spanish) from the Nahuatl "tamalli," a word for steamed cornmeal dough. Add to the menu "chili" (from "chīlli," identifying all those fiery peppers); "chocolate" (from "chocolātl," first used for a beverage made from chocolate and water); "guacamole" (from āhuacatl, meaning "avocado," plus mōlli, meaning "sauce"); and "tomato" (from "tomatl"). Top it all off with "chipotle" (a smoked and dried pepper), from "chīlli" and "pōctli" (meaning "something smoked").
Origin and Etymology of tamale
Mexican Spanish tamales, plural of tamal tamale, from Nahuatl tamalli steamed cornmeal dough
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See words that rhyme with tamale Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about tamale
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