souvlaki

Where does the word "souvlaki" come from? It comes from Greek souvla, and was adopted directly into English (1950s).

Souvlaki’s story begins in Greek: souvla meant “a skewer.” A skewer, describing small pieces of meat grilled on a stick. It reached English by 1950s as souvlaki. Greek 'little skewer'; ancient Greeks cooked 'obeliskos' skewers. Today, souvlaki means a Greek dish of small pieces of meat grilled on a skewer.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · medieval souvla "a skewer", a skewer, describing small pieces of meat grilled on a stick.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1950s souvlaki "a Greek dish of skewered, grilled meat", Greek 'little skewer'; ancient Greeks cooked 'obeliskos' skewers.