tamale

[ tuh-mah-lee ]

noun
  1. a Mexican dish made of minced and seasoned meat packed in cornmeal dough, wrapped in corn husks, and steamed.

Origin of tamale

1
1605–15, Americanism; construed as singular of Mexican Spanish tamales, plural of tamal<Nahuatl tamalli

Words Nearby tamale

Other definitions for Tamale (2 of 2)

Tamale
[ tuh-mah-lee ]

noun
  1. a city in N Ghana.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use tamale in a sentence

  • Beltrán Leyva, a gourmand, was savoring his tamale with its filling of roasted corn.

  • But the narrow streets of the Mexican quarter with their chili and tamale stands interested them.

    Mary Ware in Texas | Annie F. Johnston
  • He made Henrietta Vance shout with laughter by pretending that the olive in his tamale was a green hen's egg.

    Vandover and the Brute | Frank Norris
  • Pem musingly nursed her chin,–and with it a wildfire interest in the “hot tamale.”

    Pemrose Lorry, Camp Fire Girl | Isabel Katherine Hornibrook
  • But I always felt that I'd rather be provincial hot-tamale than soup without seasoning.

    This Side of Paradise | F. Scott Fitzgerald
  • This tamale mixture is fine for stuffing green mango peppers.

    The Khaki Kook Book | Mary Kennedy Core

British Dictionary definitions for tamale

tamale

/ (təˈmɑːlɪ) /


noun
  1. a Mexican dish made of minced meat mixed with crushed maize and seasonings, wrapped in maize husks and steamed

Origin of tamale

1
C19: erroneously for tamal, from Mexican Spanish, from Nahuatl tamalli

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012