Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Arabic ·1950s
Hummus
from ḥummuṣ
- Meaning
- A Levantine dip of pureed chickpeas, tahini, and lemon.
- Source word
- ḥummuṣ
- Route into English
- Arabic *ḥummuṣ* (chickpea) → English via mid-20th-century Middle-Eastern restaurants. The English sense is always the dip; in Arabic the word alone means the bean.
- 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.
Browse the full loanword atlas or explore another source language.