Plural of bummalo, a small dried fish used as food or bait, particularly in South Asia.
From Portuguese 'bombalo' or Hindi 'bammali', referring to a small fish species found in Indian waters. The word traveled through trade routes and maritime commerce in the 17th-18th centuries.
This word is a linguistic fossil from the spice trade era—it shows how European traders borrowed words from local languages they encountered, and bummalos were literally dried and traded as a cheap protein source across continents.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.