falafel

fa·la·fel

or fe·la·fel  (fə-lä′fəl)

n.

1.

a. A mixture of ground spiced chickpeas or fava beans that is shaped into balls and deep-fried.

b. A fried ball made of such a mixture.

2. A sandwich filled with such balls.

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[Levantine colloquial Arabic falāfil, perhaps from pl. of earlier *filfal, from Aramaic pilpāl, small round thing, peppercorn, from palpēl, to be round, roll.]

falafel

(fəlˈɑːfəl) or

felafel

n

(Cookery) a ball or cake of ground spiced chickpeas, deep-fried and often served with pitta bread

[C20: from Arabic felāfil]

fa•la•fel

or fe•la•fel

(fəˈlɑ fəl)

n.

1. a small deep-fried croquette of ground chickpeas or fava beans and spices.

2. a sandwich of pita bread filled with these croquettes.

[1950–55; < Arabic falāfil]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

falafel - small croquette of mashed chick peas or fava beans seasoned with sesame seeds felafel dish - a particular item of prepared food; "she prepared a special dish for dinner" Middle East, Mideast, Near East - the area around the eastern Mediterranean; from Turkey to northern Africa and eastward to Iran; the site of such ancient civilizations as Phoenicia and Babylon and Egypt and the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity and Islam; had continuous economic and political turmoil in the 20th century; "the Middle East is the cradle of Western civilization"