papadam

English

A stack of papadams

Alternative forms

• A large number of spelling variants exist, but most are very rare; the only common forms are papadam, pappadam, papadum, pappadum, poppadum and poppadom, and to a lesser extent pappadom, papadom, popadum and popadom.

rare alternative forms

• papodum
• popodam
• popodom
• poppodom

• poppodum
• puppadom
• puppadum
• puppodum

Etymology

Borrowed from Tamil பப்படம் (pappaṭam), from Sanskrit पर्पट (parpaṭa). Although the word began to be attested in English in the 1860s, shortly after the establishment of the British Raj, it only came into consistent use around 1940, after which all of the forms indicated below as common have remained in use.

Noun

papadam (plural papadams)

1. A thin, crisp Indian bread made from lentil flour, optionally spiced or flavoured in various ways and either grilled or deep-fried, which may be eaten on its own as a snack, with chutneys as a starter, or as an accompaniment to a meal.

Related terms

• papad

References

• Oxford English Dictionary, second edition