Sesame
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A tropical Asian plant (Sesamum indicum) bearing small flat seeds used as food and as a source of oil. countable, uncountable
- 2 East Indian annual erect herb; source of sesame seed or benniseed and sesame oil wordnet
- 3 The seed of this plant. countable, uncountable
"First, marinate the tofu. In a bowl, whisk the kecap manis, chilli sauce, and sesame oil together. Cut the tofu into strips about 1cm thick, mix gently (so it doesn't break) with the marinade and leave in the fridge for half an hour."
Example
More examples"Heat sesame oil in the pan on a medium flame, add the chicken meat, the garlic and fry, when the colour changes pour in the Chinese soup, add the Chinese cabbage and boil."
Etymology
From late Middle English sisamie, from Latin sīsamum, sēsamum, from Ancient Greek σήσαμον (sḗsamon), from Aramaic שושמא (šūššmā), shortening of שומשומא (šumššumā), from Akkadian 𒊭𒈦𒌑𒈬 (šamaššammū, “oil plant”), compound of 𒉌𒄑 (šaman, “oil”) and 𒌑 (šammum, “plant”). The modern pronunciation is perhaps influenced by (transliterations of) Greek σησάμη (sisámi). Doublet of sesamum.
Related phrases
More for "sesame"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.