couscous
Couscous is a North African food that's similar to pasta. It's made from semolina dough that's rolled into little balls and cooked. You might serve couscous with a spicy vegetable stew.
Couscous is usually served with a sauce or stew on top of it — this dish is also sometimes called couscous. While semolina, a type of wheat also used in pasta making, is most common, couscous can also be made from millet, barley, and cornmeal. The history of this common staple food most likely goes as far back as the 10th century. Couscous comes from the Arabic kaskasa, "to pound."
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a pasta made in northern Africa of crushed and steamed semolina
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a spicy dish that originated in northern Africa; consists of pasta steamed with a meat and vegetable stewtype of:disha particular item of prepared food
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Vocabulary lists containing couscous
Most words come to us from the English language's Germanic roots, as well as a lot of Latin, French, and Ancient Greek. There are, however, many English words that are actually derived from Arabic. Most of these have to do with chemistry, astronomy or mathematics — but here's a list of words derived from Arabic to do with food and drink. The words in this list mainly reach English through Portuguese and Spanish, as Iberia was under the control of Arabic people from 710–1492 CE. As the Portuguese and Spanish were in such close proximity to Arabic on a daily basis, many of the food and drink items featured here were first introduced to them, before they passed them on to the rest of Europe.
This list offers just a taste of the smorgasbord of food words that originated from many languages. Travel the world without leaving your kitchen table as you master them!
Sink your teeth into this vocabulary list and learning about world cuisine will be a piece of cake. You'll get a taste of international foods like baklava and bratwurst, guacamole and gumbo, pita and polenta. This list is so delicious that you'll want to eat your words!