halvah

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hal·vah

or hal·va (häl-vä′, häl′vä)

A crumbly confection of ground sesame seeds mixed with sugar syrup or honey and often other flavorings and pressed into a solid mass.

[Ultimately (partly via Turkish helva) from Arabic ḥalwā, from ḥaluwa, to be sweet; see x̣lw in Semitic roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

halvah

(ˈhælvɑː) or

halva

;

halavah

(ˈhæləvɑː)

(Cookery) an Eastern Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, or Indian sweetmeat made of honey and containing sesame seeds, nuts, rose-water, saffron, etc

[from Yiddish halva, from Romanian, from Turkish helve, from Arabic halwā sweetmeat]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

hal•vah

(hɑlˈvɑ, ˈhɑl vɑ)

n.

a confection of Turkish origin, made chiefly of ground sesame seeds and honey.

[1840–50; < Yiddish halva < Romanian < Turkish helva < Arabic ḥalwā sweet confection]

References in periodicals archive ?

Other Yiddish and Yiddish-inspired words in Mad included "borscht," "ganef," "bveebleftzer," "farshimmelt," "potrzebie" and "halavah." The word "Cowznofski" was another running joke often used in the early years of Mad, generally as a character's last name, often with the first name "Melvin."