sambuusa

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noun

A Somali snack similar to a samosa.

OriginSomali sambuus ← Classical Persian سَنْبوسَه ← Middle Persian *sambōsag →
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Meanings

nounsambuusa (plural sambuusas)

plural sambuusas

  1. A Somali snack similar to a samosa.

    There are influences from across the Arabian Sea, as with sambuusas, triangles of dough sealed around cumin-laced ground beef or chicken, distant kin to Indian samosas.

    2015 October 1, Ligaya Mishan, “Safari Brings Somali Cuisine to Harlem”, in New York Times

Origin

  1. Middle Persian*sambōsag
  2. Classical Persianسَنْبوسَه
  3. Somalisambuus
  4. Englishsambuusa

From Somali sambuus, from Classical Persian سَنْبوسَه (sanbōsa), from Middle Persian *sambōsag. Doublet of sambusa, sambusak, sambuseh, samosa, and samsa.

More words from Somali, Classical Persian, Middle Persian

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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