tandoor

English

WOTD – 23 October 2010

A chef using a tandoor.

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindustani तंदूर (tandūr) / تندور (tandūr), from Classical Persian تنور (tannūr), from Middle Persian [script needed] (tnwl /⁠tanūr⁠/, “oven”), ultimately from Akkadian 𒋾𒂟 (tinūru), all meaning (clay) oven. According to the Dehkhoda Dictionary, the Akkadian word consists of the parts *ṭīn meaning "mud" and *nuro／*nura meaning "fire" and is mentioned as early as in the Akkadian Epic of Gilgamesh. Compare also Avestan 𐬙𐬀𐬥𐬏𐬭𐬀 (tanūra). Doublet of athanor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tænˈdʊə(ɹ)/, /tɑːnˈdʊə(ɹ)/

• Audio (Northern California, US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʊə(ɹ)

Noun

tandoor (plural tandoors)

1. A cylindrical clay oven used, in the cuisine of the Caucasus, Middle East, and Indian subcontinent, to make flat bread, or to cook meat.
   • 2001, Martin Hughes, World Food: India, Lonely Planet, page 53:

     You can cook naan in a normal oven, but the results will inevitably disappoint; even Indians generally wait to savour them in restaurants, as very few homes are equipped with a tandoor.

Related terms

• tandoori

Translations

cylindrical clay oven

• Arabic: تَنُّور (tannūr)
• Armenian: թոնիր (hy) (tʻonir)
• Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܬܲܢܘܼܪܵܐ m (tānnura)
• Azerbaijani: təndir
• Bengali: তন্দুর (bn) (tondur)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 馕坑 (zh) (nángkēng)

• Finnish: tandooriuuni (fi)
• French: tandoor (fr) m
• Georgian: თორნე (ka) (torne), თონე (ka) (tone)
• Hindi: तन्दूर m (tandūr), तनूर (hi) m (tanūr)
• Kazakh: тандыр (tandyr)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: tenûr (ku) f, tendûr (ku) f

• Macedonian: та́ндур m (tándur)
• Marathi: तन्दूर m (tandūr)
• Persian: تنور (fa) (tanur)
• Portuguese: tandoor m
• Punjabi: ਤੰਦੂਰ (pa) (tandūr)
• Russian: тандыр (ru) (tandyr)
• Spanish: horno de barro
• Swedish: tandoor c
• Turkish: tandır (tr)
• Urdu: تندور m (tandūr), تنور m (tanūr)
• Uyghur: تونۇر (tonur)
• Uzbek: tandir (uz)

Anagrams

• donator, odorant, tornado

Portuguese

Noun

tandoor m (plural tandoors)

1. tandoor (cylindrical clay oven used in Indian cuisine)

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tanˈduɾ/ [t̪ãn̪ˈd̪uɾ]
• Rhymes: -uɾ
• Syllabification: tan‧door

Noun

tandoor m (plural tandoor)

1. tandoor