Etymology Map
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Nachos

2 stages from Mexican Spanish to English.

Today it means tortilla chips topped with melted cheese and chillies

Where does the word "nachos" come from? It comes from Mexican Spanish Nacho, adopted directly into English (1950s).

1
Stage 1 of 2
Nacho
Mexican Spanish · 1943
"Nacho (a nickname)"
the nickname of Ignacio Anaya, who invented the snack at a restaurant in Piedras Negras for visiting American officers' wives
2
Stage 2 of 2
nachos
American English · 1950s
"cheese-topped chips"
spread through Texas and became a stadium food in the 1970s
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Read the full story

Nachos’s story begins in Mexican Spanish: Nacho meant “Nacho (a nickname).” The nickname of Ignacio Anaya, who invented the snack at a restaurant in Piedras Negras for visiting American officers' wives. It reached English by 1950s as nachos. Spread through Texas and became a stadium food in the 1970s. Today, nachos means tortilla chips topped with melted cheese and chillies.