Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Arabic ·1950s
Falafel
from falāfil
- Meaning
- A deep-fried ball of ground chickpeas or fava beans.
- Source word
- falāfil
- Route into English
- Arabic *falāfil* (plural of *filfil*, pepper) → English via Middle-Eastern cuisine spreading through Europe and North America. Plural origin, now used as singular.
- Arrived
- 1950s
From Arabic
Science, trade, and the Mediterranean transit of Andalusian scholarship gave English its Arabic stratum — especially in maths, chemistry, and commerce. Many entered through Latin or Italian.
English borrows.
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