Couscous ( /ˈkʊskʊs/ or /ˈkuːskuːs/) (Berber: Seksu) is a North African Berber dish of semolina traditionally served with a meat or vegetable stew spooned over it. Couscous is a staple food throughout countries (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Libya).

Couscous was elected as the third favorite dish of French people in 2011 in a study by TNS Sofres for magazine Vie Pratique Gourmand and the first in East of France.

The name is derived from Berber seksu (meaning well rolled, well formed, rounded).

Numerous different names and pronunciations for couscous exist around the world. Couscous is /ˈkʊskʊs/ or /ˈkuːskuːs/ in the United Kingdom and only the latter in the United States. In Berber, it is known as Seksu or Kesksu and in Arabic: كسكس‎ pronounced Kuskus. It is also known as: taam (طعام) in Algeria and Morocco; Kuseksi-in Tunisia, Libya and Kuskusi Template:كسكسي in Egypt. Keskesu in Tuareg.

One of the first written references is from an anonymous 13th-century North Africa/Andalusian cookbook, Kitāb al-tabǐkh fǐ al-Maghrib (North Africa) wa'l-Andalus (Arabic) "The cookbook of the Maghreb and Al-Andalus", with a recipe for couscous that was 'known all over the world'. To this day, couscous is known as 'the North Africa national dish'. Couscous was known to the Nasrid royalty in Granada as well. And in the 13th century a Syrian historian from Aleppo includes four references for couscous. These early mentions show that couscous spread rapidly, but generally that couscous was common from Tripolitania to the west, while from Cyrenaica to the east the main cuisine was Egyptian, with couscous as an occasional dish. Today, in Egypt and the Middle East, couscous is known, but in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Libya couscous is a staple. Couscous was taken from Syria to Turkey in the 16th century and is eaten in most of the southern provinces.