Tamalito
/ˌtæməˈliːtoʊ/noun
A small tamal, typically a portion of seasoned dough and filling wrapped in a leaf and steamed.
Did you know?The word ultimately comes from Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, whose tamalli referred to a steamed food wrapped in leaves—an everyday word preserving Indigenous culinary history.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Columbian period
Nahuatl
tamalli
“A wrapped, steamed food made from maize dough, often with a filling”
16th Century
Spanish
tamal
“A tamalli; Spanish speakers adopted the Indigenous food name after contact with Mesoamerica”
Spanish Colonial period
Spanish
tamalito
“A small tamal, formed with the diminutive suffix -ito”
20th Century
English
tamalito
“A small tamal, especially in descriptions of Central American and Latin American cuisine”
Modern English
English
tamalito
“A small steamed, leaf-wrapped corn-dough dish”