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ga·ram masala (gä-räm)

Any of various blends of dry-roasted, ground spices, such as black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander seed, cumin, and cloves, used in South Asian cuisine.

[Urdu garm maṣāliḥ, garam masālā, hot spices : garm, garam, hot, burning (from Persian garm, from Middle Persian, from Old Persian garma-, in garmapada, entrance of the heat, month name; see g^wher- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots) + maṣāliḥ, masālā, ingredients, mixture of spices; see MASALA.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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