tamale
[tuh-mah-lee]
- a Mexican dish made of minced and seasoned meat packed in cornmeal dough, wrapped in corn husks, and steamed.
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Origin of tamale
1605–15, Americanism; construed as singular of Mexican Spanish tamales, plural of tamal < Nahuatl tamalli
Tamale
[tuh-mah-lee]
- a city in N Ghana.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for tamale
Contemporary Examples
Beltrán Leyva, a gourmand, was savoring his tamale with its filling of roasted corn.
Historical Examples
There she resumed her tamale in the intervals of conversation.
The Wrong WomanCharles D. Stewart
In the middle of the street was a tamale stand surrounded by patrons.
The CaliforniansGertrude Franklin Horn Atherton
The tamale is still a favorite dish, like tortillas and frijoles.
The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Volume 2Hubert Howe Bancroft
She promised to give us all a tamale supper tonight, you know.
The Long Dim TrailForrestine C. Hooker
A hot 13 tamale, like that Mexican fruit which burns you if you bite into it!
Pemrose Lorry, Camp Fire GirlIsabel Katherine Hornibrook
tamale
- a Mexican dish made of minced meat mixed with crushed maize and seasonings, wrapped in maize husks and steamed
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Word Origin
C19: erroneously for tamal, from Mexican Spanish, from Nahuatl tamalli
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for tamale
n.
1856, from American Spanish tamales, plural of tamal, from Nahuatl tamal, tamalli, a food made of Indian corn and meat.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper