פָלַאפֶל (falafel) — falafel

Etymology

The word פָלַאפֶל comes directly from Arabic falāfil, which appears on its surface to be the plural form of filfil (pepper). The precise semantic connection between falafel and pepper is unclear — the leading theory is that the name reflects the spicy or peppery flavor of the fried chickpea balls, but an alternative hypothesis suggests the word's origin may predate the Arab conquest: Aramaic speakers may have called the dish by a name derived from the root ב.ל.ב.ל (mixing, blending), which was then borrowed into Arabic with the regular substitution of b for p. However, no such Aramaic dish or name is documented.

The falafel was not a common dish in early Tel Aviv. A 1933 municipal count found only three falafel vendors in the city, and the municipal bulletin felt it necessary to explain to readers what the dish was ("a kind of Middle Eastern patty"). By 1940 vendors were ubiquitous, their blue-green carts working on every street corner. Three months before the establishment of the State, a journalist was already calling falafel the "national food of the Sabras." By 1951, the designation as Israel's national dish was firmly established in print, though it had passionate detractors — journalist Uri Kaisari wrote in 1955 that calling falafel Israel's national food was a "stupid presumption" and an embarrassment, given that "its spirit belongs to the alleys of the Arab market, from Damascus to Tangier."

The pita in which falafel is served — פִּתָּה — arrives via Ladino (Judeo-Spanish), which borrowed it from Greek pitta (flat bread, attested since the Middle Ages) either directly or through another Balkan language. Hebrew writes the word with tav rather than tet (the usual transliteration marker for foreign t) because of a perceived connection to the native Hebrew word פַּת (a piece of bread).

Key Quotes

"רטטתי תוך עצמי בקנותי מידי הקורא פיתה כרוכת 'פלאפל' טובים תמורת חצי גרוש" — איתמר בן-אב"י, 1929

"בכל פינה ופינה ברחובות העיר עומדים הם מוכרי ה'פאלאפל' עם עגלותיהם הירוקות-כחולות" — פ. פלאכסר, הצופה, 1940

"מאכלם ה'לאומי' של ה'צברים'" — א. מיילינג, קול העם, כ-1948

Timeline

• Pre-state period: Falafel sold by Arab and Mizrahi vendors throughout the Levant
• 1929: First Hebrew attestation by Itamar Ben-Avi
• 1933: Only three falafel vendors in Tel Aviv; dish still unfamiliar to many
• 1940: Vendors proliferate across Tel Aviv; dish becomes fashionable
• ~1948: Referred to as "national food of the Sabras" before independence
• 1951: Tikva Weinstock crowns falafel the national dish of Israel in Ma'ariv
• 1955–1956: Journalist Uri Kaisari mounts a spirited campaign against the designation
• Present: Universally recognized as Israel's national food

Related Words

• פִּתָּה — pita bread (from Greek via Ladino)
• חוּמוּס — hummus (Arabic, from the word for chickpea)
• קַבַּב — kebab (Aramaic root כ.ב.ב, to grill; via Arabic; even cited in the Talmud)
• שָׁוַרְמָה — shawarma (Turkish çevirme, turning, via Arabic; popular in Israel from 1967)
• סָבִיח — sabich (named after Iraqi-Jewish vendor Sabich Halabi, who began selling it in Ramat Gan in 1961)