Hummus (/ˈhʊməs/, /ˈhʌməs/;[1][2] Arabic: حُمُّص, ‘chickpeas’; full Arabic name: ḥummuṣ bi-ṭ-ṭaḥīna Arabic: حمص بالطحينة, ‘chickpeas with tahini’) is a Middle Eastern dip, spread, or savory dish made from cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, lemon juice, and garlic.[3] The standard garnish in the Middle East includes olive oil, a few whole chickpeas, parsley, and paprika.[4][5]
In Middle Eastern cuisine, it is usually eaten as a dip, with pita bread. In the West, it is now produced industrially, and is often served as a snack or appetizer with crackers
The word hummus comes from Arabic: حُمُّص, romanized: ḥummuṣ ‘chickpeas’.[6][2][7] The full name of the prepared spread in Arabic is ḥummuṣ bi ṭaḥīna ‘chickpeas with tahini’.[8] The colloquial Arabic word ḥummuṣ is a variant of the Arabic ḥimmaṣ or ḥimmiṣ which may be derived from the Aramaic language (ḥemṣīn, ḥemṣāy[9]), corresponding to the Syriac word for chickpeas: ḥem(m)ṣē.[10] The word entered the English language around the mid-20th century from the Arabic ḥummuṣ or via its borrowing for the name of the dish in Turkish: humus.[11][12]
Spelling of the word in English can be inconsistent, though most major dictionaries from American and British publishers give hummus as the primary spelling. Some American dictionaries give hommos as an alternative, while British dictionaries give houmous or hoummos.[13][2][10] Other spellings include homous, houmos, houmus, and similar variants. While humus (as it is spelled in Turkish) is sometimes found, it is avoided as a heteronym of humus, organic matter in soil.[13]
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