Falafel is also known as taʿamiya (Egyptian Arabic: طعمية‎ ṭaʿmiyya, IPA: [tˤɑʕˈmejjɑ]) in many parts of Egypt; the word is derived from a diminutive form of the Classical Arabic word ṭaʿām (طعام, "food"); the particular form indicates "a unit" of the given root in this case Ṭ-ʕ-M (ط ع م, having to do with taste and food), thus meaning "a little piece of food" or "small tasty thing".[12][13][14] Nevertheless, in Alexandria, it is called falafel.[15]