tamalito

English

Tamalito in El Salvador

Etymology

From Spanish tamalito.

Noun

tamalito (plural tamalitos)

1. A small tamale
   • 1958, Helen Evans Brown, “Introduction”, in Elena Zelayeta, Elena’s Secrets of Mexican Cooking, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, Inc., page xii:

     They make, freeze, and market Elena’s famous tortillas and tamales, tacos, enchiladas, and tamalitos.

   • 1989, H[arvey] Russell Bernard, Jesús Salinas Pedraza, Native Ethnography: A Mexican Indian Describes His Culture, Newbury Park, Calif.: SAGE Publications, Inc., →ISBN, page 548:

     In the plaza there are people selling many things to eat, such as coffee, tamales, tamalitos, and tacos with cabbage, lettuce, onion and garlic added.

   • 1995, Marjie Lambert, Recipes from the Pacific Rim: Regional Specialties from the West Coast, Mexico and Hawaii, Edison, N.J.: Chartwell Books, →ISBN, page 28:

     The perfect corn husk for a tamalito is about 5 inches wide at its midpoint.

   • 1998, Emma Sepúlveda, From Border Crossings to Campaign Trail: Chronicle of a Latina in Politics, Falls Church, Va.: Azul Editions, →ISBN, page 147:

     Sometimes the woman would say, “I’m just making tamalitos. Would you stay and have a tamalito?”

   • 1998, Cherry Hamman, Mayan Cooking: Recipes from the Sun Kingdoms of Mexico, New York, N.Y.: Hippocrene Books, →ISBN, page 134:

     Beginning at one end, roll the patty or tortilla into a tamalito like a jelly roll and place it in the center of two or three overlapped chaya leaves.

Further reading

• tamalito on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Spanish

Etymology

From tamal +‎ -ito.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tamaˈlito/ [t̪a.maˈli.t̪o]
• Rhymes: -ito
• Syllabification: ta‧ma‧li‧to

Noun

tamalito m (plural tamalitos)

1. Diminutive of tamal
2. (Belize) duckanoo