tamale
Definition
- Noun:
- A traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa (a dough made from nixtamalized corn) that is filled with various ingredients (such as meats, cheeses, fruits, or chilies), wrapped in a corn husk or banana leaf, and then steamed or boiled.
- A city in northern Ghana, serving as the capital of the Northern Region.
Examples of Usage
- Noun (Food):
- For lunch, she ordered a chicken tamale with green chili sauce.
- Making tamales is often a family activity during the holidays.
- Noun (Place):
- Tamale is an important commercial and transportation hub in Ghana.
- The airport in Tamale connects the northern part of the country to the south.
Advanced Usage
- The term is often used in the plural form "tamales" when referring to the food item in a general or collective sense.
- We bought a dozen tamales from the market.
Variants and Related Words
- Tamal: A less common, alternative singular form sometimes used, particularly in certain regional dialects of Spanish.
- Masa: The dough made from corn that is the base ingredient for a tamale.
Synonyms
- (For the food) There is no direct single-word synonym in English. It can be described as a filled corn dough dumpling or steamed corn husk packet.
Related Phrases
- Hot tamale: An informal idiom used to describe someone or something that is exciting, excellent, or attractive. (Note: This is an idiomatic expression and not a type of food).
- His new sports car is a real hot tamale.
Noun
-
corn and cornmeal dough stuffed with a meat mixture then wrapped in corn husks and steamed
-
a city in northern Ghana
