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guacamole

gwah-kuh-MOH-lee · noun

NahuatlSpanishEnglish

Origin

Guacamole comes from Spanish guacamole, which was borrowed from Classical Nahuatl āhuacamōlli. That word is a compound of āhuacatl, meaning "avocado," and mōlli, meaning "sauce" or "broth."

Journey

The word traveled from Nahuatl into Spanish largely intact in sound and meaning, then passed from Spanish into English still naming the same avocado-based mixture.

Related words

The first half of the Nahuatl compound, āhuacatl, is also the source of the English word "avocado," making the two words close relatives sharing the same root.

More words

From Nahuatl

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