sambal

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noun

A hot relish made from chili peppers and other ingredients.

OriginAfrikaans sambal ← Malay sambal ← Javanese ꦱꦩ꧀ꦧꦼꦭ꧀ →
UncommonScrabble 10
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Meanings

sambal1

nounsambal (countable and uncountable, plural sambals)

plural sambals

  1. countableuncountableA hot relish made from chili peppers and other ingredients.

Sambal2

nounSambal (plural Sambals or Sambal)

plural Sambals · alternative Zambal

  1. A member of a Filipino ethnolinguistic group living primarily in the province of Zambales and the Pangasinense municipalities of Bolinao and Anda.

Origin

  1. Javaneseꦱꦩ꧀ꦧꦼꦭ꧀
  2. Malaysambal
  3. Afrikaanssambal
  4. Englishsambal

Borrowed, either directly or via Afrikaans sambal, from Malay sambal, from Javanese ꦱꦩ꧀ꦧꦼꦭ꧀ (sambel).

More words from Afrikaans, Malay, Javanese

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

balsam
Cite this entry
APA

sambal. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sambal

MLA

“sambal.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sambal. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sambal,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sambal.

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