falafel

Sometimes fa·la·fil
Or fe·la·fel

[fuh-lah-fuhl]

noun

Middle Eastern Cooking.

1. a small croquette made with ground chickpeas or fava beans and spices, often served with salad and tahini in pita bread.

falafel

/ fəlˈɑːfəl /

noun

1. a ball or cake of ground spiced chickpeas, deep-fried and often served with pitta bread

Word History and Origins

Origin of falafel¹

First recorded in 1950–55; from Levantine Arabic falāfil, plural of filfil “pepper”; possibly from Persian pilpil, from Sanskrit pippalī “long pepper,” or from Aramaic pilpāl “small round object, peppercorn”; pepper ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of falafel¹

C20: from Arabic felāfil