Meanings
plural tamarinds
- countableuncountablebiologyA tropical tree, Tamarindus indica.
- countableuncountablecookingThe fruit of this tree; the pulp is used as spice in Asian cooking and in Worcestershire sauce.
He began to crack tamarinds, pulling out the pod flesh, adding sugar and black pepper from his palms.
2021, Leone Ross, This One Sky Day, Faber & Faber Limited, page 2531 more example
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 - Other similar species:
- countableuncountableDiploglottis australis, native tamarind, a rainforest tree of Eastern Australia.
- countableuncountableGarcinia gummi-gutta, Malabar tamarind, native to Indonesia.
- countableuncountableA velvet tamarind (Dialium spp.).
- countableuncountableA dark brown color, like that of tamarind pulp (also called tamarind brown).
Synonyms & antonyms
nounlong-lived tropical evergreen tree with a spreading crown and feathery evergreen foliage and fragrant flowers yielding hard yellowish wood and long pods with edible chocolate-colored acidic pulp
nounlarge tropical seed pod with very tangy pulp that is eaten fresh or cooked with rice and fish or preserved for curries and chutneys
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Arabicتَمْر هِنْدِيّ
- Medieval Latintamarindus
- Old Frenchtamarinde
- Middle Englishthamarynde
- Englishtamarind
From Late Middle English thamarynde, from Old French tamarinde, from Medieval Latin tamarindus, from Arabic تَمْر هِنْدِيّ (tamr hindiyy, literally “Indian date”).
More words from Middle English, Old French, Medieval Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic تَمْر هِنْدِيّ
- تَمْر هِنْدِيّ (tamr hindiyy)tropical tree
Bengali তেঁতুল, তিন্তিড়ী
- তেঁতুল (tẽtul)tropical tree
- তিন্তিড়ী (tintiṛi)tropical tree
- বৃক্ষাম্ল (brikkhamlo)tropical tree
- তেঁতুল (tẽtul)fruit
- তিন্তিড়ী (tintiṛi)fruit
Bulgarian варзия, тамаринд
- варзия (varzija)tropical tree
- тамаринд (tamarind)tropical tree
- варзия (varzija)fruit
- тамаринд (tamarind)fruit
Catalan tamerinde
- tamerindetropical tree
Chinese Mandarin 羅望子 /罗望子, 酸荳 /酸豆
- 羅望子 /罗望子 (luówàngzǐ)tropical tree
- 酸荳 /酸豆 (suāndòu)fruit
Dutch tamarinde
- tamarindetropical tree
Esperanto tamarindarbo, tamarindujo
- tamarindarbotropical tree
- tamarindujotropical tree
- tamarindofruit
Finnish tamarindi, tamarindi
- tamarinditropical tree
- tamarindifruit
French tamarinier, tamarin
- tamariniertropical tree
- tamarinfruit
German Tamarinde, Tamarinde
- Tamarindetropical tree
- Tamarindefruit
Greek οξυφοίνικα
- οξυφοίνικα (oxyfoínika)fruit
Hawaiian wī ʻawaʻawa, wī ʻawaʻawa
- wī ʻawaʻawatropical tree
- wī ʻawaʻawafruit
Hindi इमली, इमली
- इमली (imlī)tropical tree
- इमली (imlī)fruit
Hungarian tamarindusz, tamarind
- tamarindusztropical tree
- tamarindfruit
Indonesian asam jawa, asam jawa
- asam jawatropical tree
- asam jawafruit
Irish tamarain, tor tamaraine
- tamaraintropical tree
- tor tamarainetropical tree
- tamarainfruit
Italian tamarindo, tamarindo
- tamarindotropical tree
- tamarindofruit
Japanese タマリンド, タマリンド
- タマリンド (tamarindo)tropical tree
- タマリンド (tamarindo)fruit
Korean 타마린드, 타마린드
- 타마린드 (tamarindeu)tropical tree
- 타마린드 (tamarindeu)fruit
Latvian tamarinds
- tamarindsfruit
Malay asam jawa, celagi
- asam jawatropical tree
- celagitropical tree
- asam jawafruit
Persian تمر هندی, خرمای هندی
- تمر هندی (tamr-e hendi)tropical tree
- خرمای هندی (xormây-e hendi)tropical tree
- خنجه (xanja)tropical tree
- جنجه (janja)tropical tree
- تمر هندی (tamr-e hendi)fruit
- خرمای هندی (xormây-e hendi)fruit
- خنجه (xanja)fruit
- جنجه (janja)fruit
Polish tamaryndowiec indyjski, tamarynd indyjski
- tamaryndowiec indyjskitropical tree
- tamarynd indyjskitropical tree
- powidlnik indyjskitropical tree
- tamaryndfruit
Portuguese tamarindeiro, tamarindeira
- tamarindeirotropical tree
- tamarindeiratropical tree
- tamarindotropical tree
- tamarineirotropical tree
- tamarinheirotropical tree
- tamarindofruit
- tamarinhofruit
Punjabi ਇਮਲੀ
- ਇਮਲੀ (imalī)fruit
Romanian tamarin
- tamarintropical tree
Russian тамари́нд, тамари́нд
- тамари́нд (tamarínd)tropical tree
- тамари́нд (tamarínd)fruit
Spanish tamarindo, tamarindo
- tamarindotropical tree
- tamarindofruit
Swahili mkwaju, ukwaju
- mkwajutropical tree
- ukwajufruit
Swedish tamarind, tamarind
- tamarindtropical tree
- tamarindfruit
Tagalog sampalok, punong sampalok
- sampaloktropical tree
- punong sampaloktropical tree
- sampalokfruit
Tamil புளி, புளி
- புளி (puḷi)tropical tree
- புளி (puḷi)fruit
- புளியங்காய் (puḷiyaṅkāy)fruit
Thai มะขาม, มะขาม
- มะขาม (má-kǎam)tropical tree
- มะขาม (má-kǎam)fruit
Turkish demirhindi, Hint hurması
- demirhinditropical tree
- Hint hurmasıtropical tree
- demirhindifruit
- Hint hurmasıfruit
Vietnamese me, me
- metropical tree
- mefruit
- trái mefruit
Yiddish טאַמאַרינד, טאַמאַרינד
- טאַמאַרינד (tamarind)tropical tree
- טאַמאַרינד (tamarind)fruit
Cite this entry
tamarind. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tamarind
“tamarind.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tamarind. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tamarind,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tamarind.
Source: tamarind on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.