# tamal
## English
### Etymology

From Spanish tamal, from Nahuatl tamalli (“wrapped”).

### Noun

tamal (plural tamales or (proscribed) tamals)
* Alternative form of tamale (Mexican food dish).
** 1911, Coffee and Tea Industries and the Flavor Field, volume 34, page 497:I fully recognize the excellence of the tamal of the gringos. It is a superb standby for picknickers, prospectors, camping-outers, school children, and factory lunches.
** 2000, Bruce Geddes, Mexico, page 43:Someone from Campeche may brag about a tamal made there with a salsa of guajillo chiles, axiote (a regional spice), jitomate...
** 2007, Robin S. Goldstein, Fearless Critic Houston Restaurant Guide: Brutally Honest Undercover Chefs and Food Writers Rate More Than 400 Places to Eat, page 314:Ask for Salvadoran crema to accompany whichever you choose; it's thick and somewhat akin to sour cream, and you'll get that much more pleasure from your tamal.
** 2018, John Tullock, “What You Will Find in This Book”, in Appalachian Cooking: New & Traditional Recipes, New York, N.Y.: The Countryman Press, W. W. Norton & Company, →ISBN:For example, tamales have been around Knoxville for so long that they’re considered a local food, even though the tamal is an ancient Mayan idea.

#### Usage notes

The form tamal is preferred by some to tamale, as tamal is the Standard Spanish singular form while tamale is generally analyzed as a back-formation from the plural tamales, thus proscribed. Note however that tamale exists in Spanish dialect.

#### Synonyms

* tamale

### Anagrams

* Malta, malta, talma

## Cahuilla
### Noun

támal (plural támlem)
* mouth
* tooth

#### Derived terms

* tamakéñish
* tamawet

## Central Nahuatl
### Noun

tamal
* tamale.

## Coatepec Nahuatl
### Noun

tamal
* tamale.

## Guugu Yimidhirr
### Noun

tamal
* Alternative spelling of dhamal

## Ometepec Nahuatl
### Noun

tamal
* tamal

## Pipil
### Etymology

From Proto-Uto-Aztecan *tɨma. Compare Classical Nahuatl tamalli (“tamale”).

### Pronunciation

* (standard) IPA: /ˈtamal/
* (Teotepeque) IPA: /ˈtamaɬ/
* (Tacuba) IPA: /ˈtaːmal/

### Noun

tamal (plural tajtamal)
* tortilla
    Nikwa ume tamal sejsenpa kwak nitakwaI eat two tortillas every time I have a meal

### See also

* tashkal (tortilla made of tender corn)

## Sambali
### Noun

tamál
* poison

## Spanish
### Alternative forms

* tamale (dialectal)

### Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Nahuatl tamalli.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /taˈmal/ [t̪aˈmal]
* Rhymes: -al
* Syllabification: ta‧mal

### Noun

tamal m (plural tamales)
* (Central America, Mexico) tamal, tamale
* (Central America, Mexico) bundle, clumsy package
* (Central America, Mexico) embroilment, imbroglio
    Synonyms: embrollo, lío
* (El Salvador, Nicaragua) thief
* (Honduras, vulgar) vulva

#### Derived terms

* tamal pisque
* tamalería
* tamalero
* tamalito

#### Related terms

* nacatamal
* nixtamal

#### Descendants

* English: tamal, tamale

### Adjective

tamal m or f (masculine and feminine plural tamales)
* (Guatemala, figurative) fat (when referring to people)

### See also

* hallaca
* huma, humita

### References

* “tamal”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010

### Further reading

* “tamal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

## Uzbek

Other scripts :
| Yangi Imlo | |
| Cyrillic | тамал‍ |
| Latin | tamal‍ |
| Perso-Arabic (Afghanistan) | |

### Noun

tamal (plural tamallar)
* This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.