Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A pasta of North African origin made of crushed and steamed semolina.
  • noun A North African dish consisting of this pasta steamed and served with stewed vegetables or meat.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The native name of a kind of phalanger, the spotted phalanger of the Moluccas. Also written coescoes. See Cuscus.
  • noun A favorite west African dish, consisting of flour, flesh or fowls, oil, and the leaves of Adansonia digitata, or baobab. Also called by the natives lalo.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A kind of food used by the natives of Western Africa, made of millet flour with flesh, and leaves of the baobab; -- called also lalo.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A pasta of North African origin made of crushed and steamed semolina.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a spicy dish that originated in northern Africa; consists of pasta steamed with a meat and vegetable stew
  • noun a pasta made in northern Africa of crushed and steamed semolina

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, from Arabic kuskus, from kaskasa, to pulverize; see kšš in Semitic roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

First attested circa 16th century, from French, from Arabic كسكس (kuskus) from Tamazight ⵙⴽⵙⵓ (seksu).

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Examples

  • The word couscous also refers to the feast meal itself, typically a platter of couscous served alongside a richly spiced stew of beef or lamb and vegetables.

    Kansas City Star: Front Page 2011

  • The word couscous also refers to the feast meal itself, typically a platter of couscous served alongside a richly spiced stew of beef or lamb and vegetables.

    Kansas City Star: Front Page 2011

  • But on the Mediterranean's southern coast, couscous is the carb of choice, dried fruits abound, and lemon juice replaces vinegar (a blessing for migraine sufferers like myself.)

    The Other Mediterranean Diet aka TBTAM 2009

  • Stir cilantro in couscous and serve with salmon and broccoli drizzled with olive oil.

    Weight-Loss Challenge dinner: Maple-lime salmon and couscous 2010

  • When the couscous is cooked, stir in the juice of a lemon, lots of chopped parsley or coriander, black pepper and chopped roasted veg (peppers, aubergine, courgette).

    Moroccan Chicken. Mrs Frog 2007

  • When the couscous is cooked, stir in the juice of a lemon, lots of chopped parsley or coriander, black pepper and chopped roasted veg (peppers, aubergine, courgette).

    Archive 2007-05-01 Mrs Frog 2007

  • You fucked up the potatoes, you can't even manage to heat your own damn house, the couscous is clumpy, there's a crazy animal in a cage over there, my child has a split lip and peed on me, then ate my fucking lobster, and now you're trying to take away my cauliflower?!

    Archive 2006-12-01 kittenpie 2006

  • You fucked up the potatoes, you can't even manage to heat your own damn house, the couscous is clumpy, there's a crazy animal in a cage over there, my child has a split lip and peed on me, then ate my fucking lobster, and now you're trying to take away my cauliflower?!

    So This Is Christmas... kittenpie 2006

  • We tossed with less couscous for the adults the second night -- the kids liked a lot of couscous, which is the ratio you see in the pictures.

    Moroccan Ground Beef With Couscous, Topped With Caramelized Onions Laura 2009

  • We tossed with less couscous for the adults the second night -- the kids liked a lot of couscous, which is the ratio you see in the pictures.

    Archive 2009-10-01 Laura 2009

Comments

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  • pulverized

    January 14, 2008

  • Couscous (from the Berber word k'seksu) is the staple product of North Africa and the national dish of the countries of Maghrib, that is, Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. Couscous spread from this area, where it originated, to Libya, Mauritania, Egypt, and to sub-Saharan countries. Couscous is also consumed in the Middle East, where it is called mughrabiyya.

    http://www.geocities.com/tdcastros/Historyserver/papers/cuscus.htm

    March 5, 2008

  • There's a commercial from a couple years ago where they say "Don't be such a couch couscous", and it has stuck in my head. Disgusting stuff, I have to say.

    March 6, 2008

  • Mmmm - I like couscous - fun to say and eat.

    March 7, 2008

  • I always feel silly saying couscous.

    Come to think of it, I always feel silly eating couscous.

    March 7, 2008

  • maftoul.

    August 19, 2009

  • I bet reesetee looks silly eating couscous, too.

    August 19, 2009

  • One of my author friends on Fanfiction.net made this for her dinner last night.

    July 15, 2012