tamale

== English == === Etymology === Back-formation from the plural tamales, derived from Latin American Spanish tamales, plural of tamal, derived from Nahuatl tamalli (“wrapped”), derived from Proto-Uto-Aztecan *tïmaL-. Compare O'odham cemait (“tortilla”), Hopi tuma (“stone griddle for cooking corn flatbread”), Ute tʉ'ma- (“to roast under ashes”). === Pronunciation === enPR: tə-mä′lē (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /təˈmɑː.liː/ (General American, Canada) IPA(key): /təˈmɑ.li/ (Canada) IPA(key): /təˈmɒ.li/ (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA(key): /təˈmɐː.liː/ (Scotland) IPA(key): /təˈma.li/ Rhymes: -ɑːli Homophone: tomalley Hyphenation: ta‧ma‧le === Noun === tamale (plural tamales) A Mexican dish of cornmeal dough shell filled with various ingredients (e.g. chopped beef, pork, sweet filling) then steamed in corn husks. Synonyms: humita, tamal ==== Usage notes ==== The standard Spanish singular is tamal, and thus some proscribe tamale as an incorrect back-formation, preferring to use tamal as the English singular. The similarity of tamale to the ancestral Nahuatl tamalli is not generally cited in support of the English usage of tamale as its spelling does not match with the Nahuatl spelling and the word originally entered via Spanish in the form of tamales. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === References === === Further reading === “tamale”, in OneLook Dictionary Search. === Anagrams === malate, meatal == Spanish == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /taˈmale/ [t̪aˈma.le] Rhymes: -ale Syllabification: ta‧ma‧le === Noun === tamale m (plural tamales) (dialect) tamale (Mexican dish) ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ====