halvah

American  

[hahl-vah, hahl-vah] / hɑlˈvɑ, ˈhɑl vɑ /

Also halva

noun

1. a sweet, candylike confection of Turkish origin, consisting chiefly of ground sesame seeds and honey.

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halvah British  

/ ˈhæləvɑː, ˈhælvɑː /

noun

1. an Eastern Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, or Indian sweetmeat made of honey and containing sesame seeds, nuts, rose water, saffron, etc

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Etymology

Origin of halvah

1840–50; < Yiddish halva < Romanian < Turkish helva < Arabic ḥalwā sweet confection

Example Sentences

The scent of jasmine blooms on a warm evening, the smell of fresh baked pandesal at the local Filipino bakery and the rich idris of halvah and spices at the Armenian corner store.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2025

In Israel, jelly doughnuts for Hanukkah are especially popular and are sometimes filled with chocolate or halvah.

From Washington Times • Dec. 12, 2023

It wouldn’t come with the berry sauce and pistachios, nor with the shredded halvah, but he invited me to call ahead and he’d have those parts ready for me.

From Washington Post • Mar. 24, 2023

Rabbi Bentziyon Pil’s storefront synagogue is easy to miss, just a corner shop with boxes of halvah stacked in the window.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 28, 2023

He didn’t deal in dried apricots from Syria, halvah from Turkey, and honey from Lebanon.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides