The story
- Proto-Uto-Aztecan · derived from*tïmaL-
- Nahuatl · derived fromtamalli
- Spanish · derived fromtamales
- English todaytamale
Back-formation from the plural tamales, derived from Latin American Spanish tamales, plural of tamal, derived from Nahuatl tamalli (“wrapped”), derived from Proto-Uto-Aztecan *tïmaL-. Compare O'odham cemait (“tortilla”), Hopi tuma (“stone griddle for cooking corn flatbread”), Ute tʉ'ma- (“to roast under ashes”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.