1605–15, construed as singular of Mexican Spanish tamales, plural of tamal < Nahuatl tamalli
The tamale is a popular food in Mexican cuisine, made of cornmeal dough that's filled with meat or cheese and wrapped in a cornhusk before being steamed. If you have the chance, you should definitely try some tamales. Traditionally, the cornhusk (or banana leaf) wrapper was used as a plate for eating the warm tamale, and these delicious savory treats are often still eaten this way today. The starchy masa (or cornmeal) that's used in tamales becomes firm after being steamed, and this makes it a perfect portable meal. The word tamale comes from the Mexican Spanish tamal, which has a Nahuatl root, tamalli, meaning "wrapped."
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Another tamale street vendor not far from Maria's cart said she had heard of her detention and quickly teared up over what happened.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2025
There, a narrator and singer welcomes and regales guests with tales of how different Latin countries present stories of Santa Claus, or, say, the joy of unwrapping a tamale.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2024
Dig into tamale waffles, topped with shredded beef and two eggs or rich, cheesy shrimp and grits.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 1, 2024
She and her team still hand-dye pieces in tamale pots in her studio with custom colors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2023
He lives with his mother, a tamale maker, in a tiny wooden shack.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
Superman used to go after Nazis, Klansmen and intergalactic monsters; now, Superman — er, Cain — wants to go after Tamale Lady.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2025
Back in Tamale, Ghana, the BBC team followed the local task force on one final raid that turned up even more of Aveo's Tafrodol.
From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2025
Bawumia's journey to the top began in 1963, when he was born into a large family in the northern city of Tamale.
From BBC ● Nov. 18, 2024
For catering, she hired Tamale My Life, which she chose for its solid vegetarian options.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 15, 2024
Spurring his mount into an easy canter he swept down to and across the river, fording it where he had crossed it when pursuing Tamale Jose.
From Hopalong Cassidy's Rustler Round-Up by Mulford, Clarence Edward
The protester, Seth Todd, responded with a joke, saying he had tasted "spicier tamales".
From BBC ● Dec. 27, 2025
“They were ready for Christmas, to make tamales, to make pozole, to make something and celebrate with the family. And now, nothing.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 24, 2025
Never mind all the newborns rolled out and swaddled like Christmas tamales, or the forceps deliveries that resemble tooth extractions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025
One minute Maria was selling tamales from her food cart in Chicago's West Side.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2025
We caught the bus back home, and when we arrived, my mom started preparations for Enrique’s favorite meal, which was pork tamales.
From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez
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.
