moussaka

Where does the word "moussaka" come from? It comes from Arabic musaqqa'a, passing through Ottoman Turkish and Greek before entering English (1900s).

Moussaka’s story begins in Arabic: musaqqa'a meant “chilled, cooled.” Literally chilled, describing a cold layered eggplant dish. By 1700s-1800s, the word had taken hold in Ottoman Turkish as musakka. Carried through Ottoman cuisine as a layered eggplant dish. From there it passed into Greek as mousakas by 1800s-1900s. Adapted into a baked, layered eggplant and meat dish. It reached English by 1900s as moussaka. The Greek chef Nikolaos Tselementes added the béchamel topping in the 1920s. Today, moussaka means a baked Greek and Middle Eastern dish of layered eggplant, meat, and bechamel sauce.

1. Stage 1 · Arabic · medieval musaqqa'a "chilled, cooled", literally chilled, describing a cold layered eggplant dish.
2. Stage 2 · Ottoman Turkish · 1700s-1800s musakka "a layered eggplant dish", carried through Ottoman cuisine as a layered eggplant dish.
3. Stage 3 · Greek · 1800s-1900s mousakas "a baked, layered eggplant dish", adapted into a baked, layered eggplant and meat dish.
4. Stage 4 · English · 1900s moussaka "a baked Greek dish of layered eggplant and meat", the Greek chef Nikolaos Tselementes added the béchamel topping in the 1920s.