Kabab

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A dish made with meat, typically grilled on skewers, frequently accompanied by vegetables or flatbreads
2. A popular preparation of marinated meat pieces, skewered and cooked over an open flame, often served with sauces or dips
3. A culinary preparation consisting of skewered meat, often marinated and grilled, served alongside various accompaniments like vegetables or bread

Etymology: The word is an alternative spelling of "kebab," and its roots run back to Arabic "kabāb," a term for roasted or grilled meat. From there it travelled east and north along trade and conquest routes, picking up forms in Persian and Turkish ("kebap") and through Hindustani and Punjabi, before reaching English. Along the way the meaning stayed close to its origin: cooked meat on a skewer or spit. The spelling "kabab" with a double a is a variant of the more common "kebab," reflecting the vowel of the Arabic original more closely in some transliterations. Both spellings point back to the same Arabic source, and the variation mostly reflects how different writers chose to represent sounds that English has no exact letters for.

Synonyms: kebabs, skewers, meat skewers