A shallot, a small bulbous vegetable related to the onion, commonly used in cooking for subtle flavor.
From French 'échalote,' possibly from Arabic 'al-'asqalānī' (of Ascalon, a city in Palestine). The term entered English in the 16th century from French culinary vocabulary.
The shallot's name traveled from the Middle East to France to England, and its spelling changed along the way—'eschalot' shows how food words preserve their cultural journey in our language.
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