Etymology
The name is derived from Arabic language (Arabic: كسكس ) (meaning well rolled, well formed, rounded). Numerous different names and pronunciations for couscous exist around the world. Couscous is /ˈkʊskʊs/ or /ˈkuːskuːs/ in the United Kingdom and only the latter in the United States. In Berber it is known as Seksu or Kesksu and in Arabic: كسكس pronounced Kuskus. It is also known as: taam (طعام) in Algeria and Morocco; Kuseksi-in Tunisia, Libya and Kuskusi (كسكسي) in Egypt. Keskesu in Tuareg.
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Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)
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—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)