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ha·ris·sa

(hä-rēsə)

A spicy North African sauce made from chili peppers, garlic, cumin, and other seasonings.

[Arabic harīsa, dish of pounded meat and bulgur, from harasa, to pound; see hrs in the Appendix of Semitic roots.]

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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