What Tamal means
Molina 1571 glosses tamalli as maize bread wrapped in husks and cooked in a pot. English borrowed the Spanish plural tamales first and back-formed a singular tamale that no Mexican uses; in Mexico it is one tamal, two tamales.
NahuatlWent into English
Tamal
“maize dough steamed in a wrapper”
English borrowed it as tamale.
Say it
tah·MAHL
Classical form
tamalli (maize dough cooked in a wrapping)
Dishes built from Tamal
Nahuatl words that English uses every day
Chocolate, tomato, avocado, chili, coyote, ocelot, tamale. English took these from Spanish, and Spanish took them from Nahuatl in the sixteenth century. Most English speakers use a handful of Aztec words before breakfast.
- Aguacateavocadoah-gwah-KAH-tehEnglish: avocado
- Ajoloteaxolotlah-hoh-LOH-tehEnglish: axolotl
- Atolemaize gruel drinkah-TOH-lehEnglish: atole
- Cacaocacao beankah-KAH-ohEnglish: cacao
- Chiclechewing gum latexCHEE-klehEnglish: chicle
- Chilechilli pepperCHEE-lehEnglish: chili
- Chipotlesmoked chillichee-POHT-lehEnglish: chipotle
- Chocolatechocolatechoh-koh-LAH-tehEnglish: chocolate
Back to all Nahuatl and Maya words, or see how they combine in Nahuatl names.