imam bayildi

Where does the word "imam bayildi" come from? It comes from Ottoman Turkish imam bayıldı, and was adopted directly into English (1900s).

Imam bayildi’s story begins in Ottoman Turkish: imam bayıldı meant “the imam fainted.” 'the imam fainted', from a tale of an imam who swooned at its taste, or at the cost of the olive oil. It reached English by 1900s as imam bayildi. Kept untranslated in English cookbooks of Middle Eastern food. Today, imam bayildi means a Turkish dish of aubergine stuffed with onion, garlic and tomato, cooked in olive oil.

1. Stage 1 · Ottoman Turkish · 1600s-1800s imam bayıldı "the imam fainted", 'the imam fainted', from a tale of an imam who swooned at its taste, or at the cost of the olive oil.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1900s imam bayildi "stuffed aubergine dish", kept untranslated in English cookbooks of Middle Eastern food.