mancarea

Mâncare, sometimes written mancarea in non-diacritic texts, is a Romanian noun meaning food or nourishment. It refers to substances consumed to provide energy and nutrition and to meals in general, including cooked dishes, snacks and other edibles.

Etymology and orthography: The term is derived from the verb a mânca (to eat). It is formed with the suffix -are; the standard spelling uses the diacritic â on the first a (mâncare). In non-diacritic contexts, it commonly appears as mancarea; the plural forms mâncări and mâncăruri are also used to refer to various foods or dishes.

Usage in cuisine: In Romanian usage, mâncare covers daily meals and traditional dishes. It appears in phrases such as mâncare sănătoasă (healthy food) and mâncare gătită acasă (home-cooked food). Romanian cuisine features a wide range of mâncare, from soups (ciorbă) and stews (tocană) to stuffed vegetables (sarmale) and mămăligă. The term thus serves as a generic label for food in both everyday speech and culinary writing.