'Akel': Arabic word for food can refer to home-cooked meals, embezzlement, fire and rust

Akel, the Arabic word of the week, means 'food', but also has plenty of other meanings

Akel is Arabic for food, and while the word can conjure up mouth-watering images of home-cooked meals and finely garnished plates, it can also refer to the appetite of fire and rust, as well as means of living.

Akel fakher is luxury dining. Akel baseet is a simple dish.

Food that tastes good is akel tayyeb or akel lazeez. For something unpalatable, you can simply say akel gheir tayyeb or akel gheir lazeez.

Akel bait is food cooked at home. For food served at a restaurant, you can say akel mataaem.

Akel khafif is a light bite. Akel dasim is a dense, heavy meal. Akel shaabi is popular street food.

A shawarma is considered akel shaabi, popular street food. Ravindranath K / The National

Then there’s akel modhin or akel gheir sahhi, which refer to fat-rich and unhealthy foods.

For pets, there is akel qitat for cats and akel kilab for dogs.

Akel eish is a colloquial Egyptian term that refers to a breadwinning source of income.

As a verb, akala ― or in female form, akalet ― resonates far beyond the digestive tract in idioms that refer to everything from embezzlement to a decaying anger.

Although the word is related to eating and can be used as such, akala/akalet becomes much more interesting when not referring to food.

If a person has been struck a blow, whether physically or in a more metaphorical sense, you could say akala/akalet darban.

Akala el sada el hadid is corroding iron.

Akala amwal el naas can be said of a person who conned or robbed a group of people for money.

For property damaged in a fire, you could say akalathu il niran. For a person consumed with anxiety or rage, you could say akala baadahu baadan.

Finally, a couple of maxims.

Illi biyakol ala dirso biyenfa nafso literally translates to "whoever eats on his teeth benefits himself" and basically implies to put your trust only in yourself.

Aatee el khobz lal khabbaz law akal nisso says to "leave the bread making to the baker, even if he eats half of it". The proverb suggests one should always defer to the most skilled person for the job, even if their services come at a price.