moussaka

noun

mous·​sa·​ka mü-ˈsä-kə How to pronounce moussaka (audio) ˌmü-sä-ˈkä How to pronounce moussaka (audio)
variants or less commonly mousaka
: a Middle Eastern dish of ground meat (such as lamb or beef) and sliced eggplant often topped with a seasoned sauce

Examples of moussaka in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web There’s also a spinach pie salad, with filo, spinach feta and lemon tahini, and the classic moussaka. Connie Ogle, Miami Herald, 22 Feb. 2024 United Airlines is dreaming of moussaka and ouzo as the airline prepares to launch a new seasonal flight from Chicago to Athens this spring. Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 25 Jan. 2024 The menu has all the classics — Greek fries, moussaka, souvlaki, gyros, and more. Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 10 Dec. 2023 There’s even a sale on favorites like moussaka and baklava. Chris Bieri, Anchorage Daily News, 18 Aug. 2023 In celebration of the film, the chefs use moussaka, bacon, Go-GURT and the Magic Bullet blender to create elevated dishes for the star of the film, actress Nia Vardalos. Brenda Cain, cleveland, 16 Aug. 2023 Douskos is still operating and still in the family, feeding generations of Greeks and travelers heaping servings of moussaka and fish soup. Hazlitt, 15 Mar. 2023 Egyptian moussaka foregoes both the béchamel of the Greek version and the usual ground beef, so all attention is given to the eggplant, roasted in tomato sauce until the flesh goes lush. Ligaya Mishan, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2020 Other moussaka recipes use potato slices, which tend to need a fair amount of salt for seasoning. Darlene Zimmerman, Detroit Free Press, 22 Feb. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'moussaka.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Modern Greek mousakas, from Turkish musakka, from dialect Arabic (Egypt) musaggaʽa, literally, chilled

First Known Use

1862, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of moussaka was in 1862

Dictionary Entries Near moussaka

Cite this Entry

“Moussaka.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moussaka. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

moussaka

noun
mous·​sa·​ka ˌmü-sə-ˈkä How to pronounce moussaka (audio)
: a Middle Eastern dish of ground meat (as lamb or beef) and sliced eggplant often topped with a seasoned sauce
Etymology

from modern Greek mousakas "moussaka"

More from Merriam-Webster on moussaka

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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