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tamale

1 American  
[tuh-mah-lee] / təˈmɑ li /

noun

  1. a Mexican dish made of minced and seasoned meat packed in cornmeal dough, wrapped in corn husks, and steamed.

Tamale 2 American  
[tuh-mah-lee] / təˈmɑ li /

noun

  1. a city in N Ghana.

tamale British  
/ təˈmɑːlɪ /

noun

  1. a Mexican dish made of minced meat mixed with crushed maize and seasonings, wrapped in maize husks and steamed

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of tamale

1605–15, construed as singular of Mexican Spanish tamales, plural of tamal < Nahuatl tamalli

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.