nixtamal means hominy; maize kernels which have undergone nixtamalization, that is, hulling and soaking and cooking in an alkaline solution. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “nixtamal” is a great word
NIXTAMAL — [Noun] Hominy; maize kernels that have been hulled and cooked in an alkaline solution, typically limewater, in the foundational Mesoamerican process called nixtamalization. From Mexican Spanish nixtamal, from Classical Nahuatl nextamalli ("hominy"), a compound of nextli ("ashes, lime") + tamalli ("something wrapped, tamal"). Unlike "masa," the soft dough made by grinding the kernels, or the generic English "hominy," "nixtamal" specifies the transformed grain itself and the ancient alchemy that liberates its nutrition. It is the swollen, golden kernels steaming in a clay pot, the faint mineral scent of slaked lime, and the soft, persistent sound of the metate grinding the paste—the quiet, necessary labor that turns rock and seed into the soul of a civilization.
Etymology
From Mexican Spanish nixtamal, from Classical Nahuatl nextamalli (“hominy”), from nextli (“ashes, lime”) + tamalli (“something wrapped”).
noun
- Hominy; maize kernels which have undergone nixtamalization, that is, hulling and soaking and cooking in an alkaline solution.