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Etymology and origin of the English word tapas

English has two nouns spelled tapas: a term of Hinduism and Jainism for religious austerity, from Sanskrit, and the name of Spanish bar snacks, from Spanish.[1]

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈtæpæs/, /-pəs/[2]
  • US: /ˈtæpəs/, /ˈtɑː-/[2]

tapas1 religious austerity

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1810 J. Malcolm, Asiatick Researches
Borrowed from
Sanskrit तपस्
Ultimate origin
Sanskrit तपस्

Etymology

The word for religious austerity is borrowed from Sanskrit तपस् (tápas, “warmth, heat; austerity”), literally "heat".[1][3][4][2] Klein relates the Sanskrit noun to the verb for "to warm, heat, burn" and takes it as cognate with Latin tepeō (“to be warm or lukewarm”), the source of tepid;[5] Wiktionary traces it to Proto-Indo-European *tep- (“to be warm or hot”).[2] The derivative tapasya, religious austerity, was also used in English, and the Shorter Oxford calls it the earlier form.[1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Religious austerity or bodily mortification, in Hinduism and Jainism: the OED's first quotation is from J. Malcolm in the Asiatick Researches (1810).[1] The Shorter Oxford dates the word to the early 19th century,[3] while the Random House dictionary gives 1930–35.[6][7]

Semantic evolution

The word passed from the literal Sanskrit sense "heat" to the heat of ascetic practice, the austerity a devotee undergoes.[1][5][4] In English it has kept that religious sense, used both of the austerity itself and of practising it.[1][3]

Timeline

  • 1810 – religious austerity or bodily mortification, in Hinduism and Jainism.[1][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Hinduism, Jainism) Religious austerity; ascetic practice and self-discipline.[4][1][3]

tapas2 Spanish snacks

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1937
Borrowed from
Spanish tapas
Ultimate origin
Spanish tapa

Etymology

The word for the snacks is borrowed from Spanish tapas, the plural of tapa (“cover, lid”).[1][8][9][2] Oxford dictionaries explain that the snacks were given free with a drink and served on a dish balanced on the glass, so that they "covered" it.[9][10] Etymonline reports a story from Camilla Jessel's cookbook “The Taste of Spain”: the name arose in the early 20th century at the Círculo de Labradores in Seville, a club without its own bar, whose servants brought drinks from across the street with the food set on top of the glass.[11] The Spanish noun is probably of Germanic origin,[7][2] and Wiktionary traces it through Gothic to Proto-Germanic *tappô (“plug; tap”), making tapas a doublet of tap.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Savoury snacks served in Spanish bars, in a Spanish context by 1937 according to Etymonline.[11] The OED's first quotation is from C. Salter's Introducing Spain (1953).[1]

Semantic evolution

In Spain the snacks were eaten with sherry, and later with other drinks as well.[2] English took the word in the plural for the snacks as a group, and it is usually construed as a plural, though the singular tapa is occasionally used for one of them.[1] The word is also used attributively, as in tapas bar.[8]

Timeline

  • 1937 – snacks served with drinks, in a Spanish setting.[11] The OED's first quotation is from 1953.[1]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Small Spanish savoury dishes or snacks, typically served with drinks in a bar: We shared a few plates of tapas before dinner.[9][8][1]
  2. As a modifier, of or serving such dishes: a tapas bar.[8]

Usage notes

In the food sense tapas usually takes a plural verb, but it can take a singular one when it means a set of dishes or a single order.[1][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  3. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  5. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  6. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  8. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  9. ^ a b c Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  11. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Tapas.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/tapas. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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