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laksa

a spicy noodle soup popular in Southeast Asia, often with coconut milk or tamarind

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Where does the word "laksa" come from? It comes from Malay laksa, and was adopted directly into English (1900s).

Read the full story

Where does the word "laksa" come from? It comes from Malay laksa, and was adopted directly into English (1900s).

Laksa’s story begins in Malay: laksa meant “a spicy noodle soup.” Possibly from Sanskrit or Hindi lakhshah, a spicy noodle soup of the region. It reached English by 1900s as laksa. Peranakan Chinese-Malay cooks of Penang and Singapore developed the curry noodle soup. Today, laksa means a spicy noodle soup popular in Southeast Asia, often with coconut milk or tamarind.

  1. Stage 1 · Malay · medieval laksa "a spicy noodle soup", possibly from Sanskrit or Hindi lakhshah, a spicy noodle soup of the region.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1900s laksa "a spicy Southeast Asian noodle soup", Peranakan Chinese-Malay cooks of Penang and Singapore developed the curry noodle soup.

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