falafel

American  

[fuh-lah-fuhl] / fəˈlɑ fəl /

Sometimes falafil or felafel

noun

Middle Eastern Cooking.

1. a small croquette made with ground chickpeas or fava beans and spices, often served with salad and tahini in pita bread.

---

falafel British  

/ fəlˈɑːfəl /

noun

1. a ball or cake of ground spiced chickpeas, deep-fried and often served with pitta bread

---

Etymology

Origin of falafel

First recorded in 1950–55; from Levantine Arabic falāfil, plural of filfil “pepper”; possibly from Persian pilpil, from Sanskrit pippalī “long pepper,” or from Aramaic pilpāl “small round object, peppercorn”; pepper ( def. )

Example Sentences

He says that recently many families could not even afford falafel – a cheap, traditional snack.

From BBC

The Palestinian, French and Israeli flags fly from the ceiling of "Sababa, the Taste of Peace", where the first customers packed in to eat hummus, falafel or Gazan salad.

From Barron's

And she remembered her father telling her about going to Gaza to eat falafel — “It used to have the best falafel, he always said” — and buying produce in its vegetable markets.

From Los Angeles Times

Over a lunch of falafel and coffee at the Hammer, Shilling talked about growing up in L.A. and attending Fairfax High School.

From Los Angeles Times

In one video, Braslavski is seen crying as he says he has run out of food and water and only ate three "crumbs of falafels" that day.

From BBC