maftoul

M3A1F4T1O1U1L1

noun

Small dough balls found in Levantine or Palestinian cuisine, made of flour hand-rolled around a hard wheat grain like bulghur, semolina, or jareesh.

OriginSouth Levantine Arabic مَفْتُول →
Scrabble 12
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Meanings

nounmaftoul (uncountable)

alternative maftool

  1. uncountableSmall dough balls found in Levantine or Palestinian cuisine, made of flour hand-rolled around a hard wheat grain like bulghur, semolina, or jareesh.
  2. uncountableA dish made using the above ingredient.

    Currently, the Palestinian territories are being featured, and the menu boasts treats like maftoul (a garlicky chicken and couscous dish) and tamar Hindi (chilled tamarind juice with rose water).

    2015 April 30, Jordan Bissell, “10 wacky U.S. restaurants”, in CNN

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
moghrabieh

Origin

  1. South Levantine Arabicمَفْتُول
  2. Englishmaftoul

From South Levantine Arabic مَفْتُول (maftūl, literally “twisted (thing)”), passive participle of the verb فَتَل (fatal, “to twist”), used in reference to the act of hand-rolling flour to create the product.

More words from South Levantine Arabic

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

maftoul. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maftoul

MLA

“maftoul.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maftoul. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “maftoul,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maftoul.

Source: maftoul on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.