Posole

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A traditional Mexican dish consisting of hominy corn cooked in broth usually flavored with meat and spices
2. A savory stew made from hominy that is often enhanced with meat, vegetables, and various seasonings
3. A hearty soup featuring large kernels of corn and typically accompanied by meat, garnishes, and savory spices

Etymology: Pozole is the Spanish spelling of a dish whose name comes from the Nahuatl language of central Mexico. In Classical Nahuatl, "pozolli" meant a stew of maize kernels, and the Spanish borrowed it as "pozole." The name reflects the dish's central ingredient: hominy, corn kernels soaked and cooked until they swell and burst open. That process was already part of Mesoamerican food preparation long before Spanish speakers arrived, so the word describes a traditional dish rather than a colonial invention. "Posole" is an alternative spelling of the same word, found where English and Spanish writers adapt the Spanish form. The English spelling has no separate history: it is simply the same borrowed term, written with a different vowel ending.

Synonyms: hominy, corn soup