The English Language

Borrowed Food Words

119 words from 43 languages found

Word	Language	Meaning	Notes
a la carte	French	from the card	One of many food, restaurant and cookery terms from French.
abattoir	French		Place where animals are slaughtered.
anchovy	Basque	dried fish
bacon	Norman French		Cured pig's meat. One of many names for meats from Norman French.
bagel	Yiddish		Hard ring shaped bread roll.
baklava	Turkish		Sweet made from layered pastry, syrup and pistachio nuts.
barbecue	Carib	wooden frame on posts	Grilling food over a fire, originally on a wooden frame.
basmati	Hindi		A type of rice. One of many food terms from Hindi.
beef	Norman French		Meat of ox or cow.
bhaji	Sanskrit	to fry	Indian starter (example 'mushroom bhaji').
biryani	Farsi	fried	A rice dish from India and Pakistani.
biscuit	French	twice cooked	Has different meanings in USA and UK.
bistro	Russian	fast	Small bar or restaurant.
broccoli	Italian		A vegetable. One of many food terms from Italian.
candy	Sanskrit	crystalised sugar	Used in USA in place of the UK word 'sweets'.
caramel	Arabic	ball of sweet salt	A milky sweet.
caviar	Turkish		Pickled roe of a sturgeon fish.
chocolate	Nahuatl		'Choco' is the name of the bean, 'atl' is water.
chopsuey	Cantonese	mixed bits	A Chinese dish invented in San Fransisco (USA).
chutney	Hindi		A side dish for food.
cinnamon	Hebrew
cocoa	Quechua		A seed from which a powder is extracted.
coleslaw	Dutch		European salad.
cookie	Dutch	little cake	A type of biscuit in UK; a word for biscuit in USA.
cream	Gaulish
crumpet	Welsh		A soft cake. UK slang for a sexually desirable woman.
curry	Tamil	sauce	Spicy Indian meal.
custard	Norman French		Baked mixture of eggs and milk.
dim sum	Cantonese	little heart	A collection of Chinese dishes.
egg	Norse		As produced by females.
escargot	Provencal		An edible snail.
gherkin	Dutch	cucumber	plural of 'gurk'
goulash	Hungarian	herdsman	A type of stew (eaten by herdsmen).
gourmet	French	wine taster	Judge of good eating.
grease	Norman French	fat
guacamole	Nahuatl		A spicy avocado paste from Central America.
gumbo	Kongo		Soup thickened with okra pods.
Haloumi	Coptic	cheese	via Greek
halvah	Romanian		Sweet of sesame, honey and flour.
hamburger	German		Named after its city of origin.
hors d'oeuvre	French	outside the work	Extra dish served as a starter for a meal.
kebab	Turkish		Meat on a skewer. Different types: shish = skewer; donner = turning. USA name for donner is 'giro'.
ketchup	Amoy	fish brine	This word came to English via Malay where it came to mean a tomato sauce.
kimchi	Korean		Pickled cabbage.
leaven	Gaulish
liquorice	Norman French	sweet root	Originally from a Greek root, 'glico riza'.
lunch	Spanish	a slice of food
macaroni	Italian		A type of pasta.
manna	Hebrew		A mythical food from heaven.
margarine	French		Butter substitute.
marinade	French	pickle in brine	From the same root as 'marine', of the sea.
marmalade	Portuguese	quince	Preserve made from citrus fruit.
marzipan	Arabic		Paste of almonds and sugar used in cakes.
mayonnaise	French		Named after its place of origin. Shortened to 'mayo' in the USA.
menu	French	list	Originally a restaurant term, now used in computing.
molasses	Portuguese		Used in USA. In UK the word 'treacle' is used.
muesli	Swiss German	little pap	Chopped cereal, nuts, honey and fruit. Used in UK. The USA word is 'grenola'.
muffin	German		One of many cake, pastry, snack words from German.
mulligatawny	Tamil	pepper and water	Highly seasoned Indian soup.
mutton	Norman French		Meat of sheep.
noodle	German
nosh	Yiddish	to nibble secretly	Used mainly in UK slang.
nougat	Provencal	nut	Sweet of sugar, honey, egg-white and nuts.
nutmeg	Provencal		A spice.
okra	Ibo		A vegetable also known as 'ladies' fingers'.
omelette	French		Beaten and fried eggs.
paella	Catalan		A sea-food and rice dish named after the pan it is cooked in.
paprika	Hungarian		A spice.
pasta	Italian	paste	From the dried flour paste used in cooking.
pastrami	Romanian		A cured meat.
pepper	Sanskrit	berry	Aromatic condiment.
pickle	Dutch		Meat, fish or vegetables or stored in brine or vinegar.
picnic	French		An outdoor meal.
pizza	Italian
platter	Norman French	big plate
poppadom	Tamil		Crispy Indian starter.
pork	Norman French		The meat of the pig.
pretzel	German		A snack eaten in the USA.
recipe	Latin	receive
restaurant	French		Public eating place.
rice	Farsi		Grass used as a food.
roast	French	gridiron	Cook meat in oven.
rusk	Spanish	roll of bread
salad	Provencal
samosa	Hindi		A spicy snack popular in the UK.
satay	Malay		Meat grilled on sticks and dipped in peanut sauce.
sauce	French	to salt
sauerkraut	German
sauté	French	tossed
saveloy	French	from brains	Sausage made from brains.
scoff	Afrikaans	eat voraciously
scone	Dutch	fine bread
semolina	Italian	little bran	Grains left after the milling of flour.
shashlik	Tartar		A type of kebab.
sirloin	French	above the loin	Choice cut of meat.
smorgasbord	Swedish	butter table	Swedish buffet meal.
snack	Dutch		Casual meal.
soufflé	French	blown	Made light and frothy.
soup	French	broth
soy	Japanese		A bean used as a meat substitute.
spaghetti	Italian	little strings	A type of pasta.
spinach	Farsi		Green leaf vegetable - a delicacy in Asia.
steak	Norse	roast on a spit
strudel	German		Pastry with apples.
sugar	Sanskrit		Sweet crystals.
sushi	Japanese		A meal of cold rice sometimes garnished with raw fish.
tahini	Arabic	flour
tang	Danish	point	Describing taste.
tofu	Mandarin	spoiled bean	from 'dou fu', a soya bean extract
treacle	Greek
truffle	Provencal		Edible fungus.
veal	Norman French
venison	Norman French	to hunt	Deer meat
vermicelli	Italian	little worms	A type of pasta.
wafer	Norman French
waffle	Dutch		Small crisp butter cake.
wok	Cantonese		Chinese cooking implement.
won ton	Cantonese		Chinese fish based soup.
yoghurt	Turkish		Curd made from fermented milk.

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