Enchilada

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌɛn.t͡ʃɪˈlɑ.də/

Definitions

1. A culinary creation that features a rolled tortilla encasing various fillings, usually meats or beans, and is generously topped with a spicy sauce
2. This dish consists of a tortilla that is filled with an assortment of ingredients, such as meat or cheese, and is then covered in a rich, often spicy sauce
3. A traditional Mexican dish made by wrapping a tortilla around diverse fillings like meat or cheese and smothering it in a flavorful sauce

Etymology: The Spanish word "enchilada" is a noun formed from the past participle of "enchilar," a verb meaning "to add chili pepper to." Read literally, the name means something like "the chilied one" or "the thing that has been seasoned with chili." The dish is named for the sauce that is poured over it, not for the rolled tortilla itself. Spanish speakers used the word as a noun in exactly this way: a food that had been given a chili treatment became, through the participle, a named dish. The word's ending in "-ada" is the same feminine past-participle ending found in many Spanish words that describe something done to an object, which is why the noun reads as a finished state rather than an action.