hummus

Etymology

It is borrowed from Arabic حمّص (ḥummuṣ, “chickpeas”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} which Dictionary.com gives as dialectal;^[7] Wiktionary takes the English form from a colloquial pronunciation of the Arabic word.^[1] The OED and Collins derive it instead from Turkish humus (“mashed chickpeas”).^[8][9] Nişanyan traces the Arabic word to Aramaic חמצא (χumṣā), of the same meaning.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The chickpea itself: by 1852.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The Arabic word means chickpeas, and the English name passed to the dish made of them, which Word Origins describes as an early speciality of Damascus.^[5][4] English first named the dish in 1916 with a longer Middle Eastern name, hummus-imdamas;^[4] hummus alone for it is recorded from 1949 in Merriam-Webster,^[2] while the OED and Etymonline first record it in 1955.^[8][4] The OED describes it as a Middle Eastern hors d'œuvre that has more recently spread elsewhere.^[8]

Timeline

• 1852 – the chickpea.^[4]
• 1916 – the dish, under the name hummus-imdamas.^[4]
• 1949 – the paste of mashed chickpeas.^[2] The OED's first quotation is from 1955, in Elizabeth David's Book of Mediterranean Food.^[8][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A thick dip or spread of mashed chickpeas mixed with tahini, lemon juice and garlic, eaten with bread or as part of a meze: We had warm pita and a bowl of hummus.^{[2][9][8][10]}

Related words

• humus

Usage notes

The spellings hoummos, houmous and humous are also used, especially in Britain;^[9][10] Merriam-Webster gives hommos as less common.^[2] Collins advises against confusing the word with humus, soil formed from decayed plant matter.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Nişanyan, Sevan, Nişanyan Sözlük: Çağdaş Türkçenin Etimolojisi (online edition)
7. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
8. ^ a b c d e Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
10. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press