Cheese: Difference between revisions

The word ''cheese'' comes from [[Latin alphabet|Latin]] ''{{lang|la|caseus}}'',<ref>{{cite book|last=Simpson|first=D. P.|title=Cassell's Latin Dictionary|publisher=Cassell Ltd.|year=1979|edition=5th|location=London|page=883|isbn=978-0-304-52257-6}}</ref> from which the modern word [[casein]] is also derived. The earliest source is from the [[proto-Indo-European language|proto-Indo-European]] root ''*kwat-'', which means "to [[Fermentation in food processing|ferment]], become sour". That gave rise to ''{{lang|ang|cīese}}'' or ''{{lang|ang|cēse}}'' (in [[Old English]]) and ''{{lang|enm|chese}}'' (in [[Middle English]]). Similar words are shared by other [[West Germanic languages]]—[[West Frisian language|West Frisian]] ''{{lang|fy|tsiis}}'', [[Dutch language|Dutch]] ''{{lang|nl|kaas}}'', German ''{{lang|de|Käse}}'', [[Old High German]] ''{{lang|goh|chāsi}}''—all from the reconstructed West-Germanic form ''*kāsī'', which in turn is an early borrowing from Latin.

The ''[[Online Etymological Dictionary]]'' states that "cheese" comes from:<ref name="online">{{cite web |title=cheese |website=Online Etymology Dictionary |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=cheese |access-date=April 3, 2017 |archive-date=April 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404044339/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=cheese |url-status=live }}</ref><blockquote>Old English {{lang|ang|cyse}} (West Saxon), {{lang|ang|cese}} (Anglian) ... from West Germanic *kasjus (source also of Old Saxon ''kasi'', Old High German ''{{lang|goh|chasi}}'', German ''{{lang|de|Käse}}'', Middle Dutch ''{{lang|dum|case}}'', Dutch ''{{lang|nl|kaas}}''), from Latin ''{{lang|la|caseus}}'' [for] "cheese" (source of Italian ''{{lang|it|cacio}}'', Spanish ''{{lang|es|queso}}'', Irish ''{{lang|ga|caise}}'', Welsh ''{{lang|cy|caws}}'').</blockquote>The ''Online Etymological Dictionary'' states that the word is of:<ref name="online" /><blockquote>unknown origin; perhaps from a PIE root *kwat- "to ferment, become sour" (source also of Prakrit {{lang|pra|chasi}} "buttermilk;" Old Church Slavonic {{lang|cu|kvasu}} "leaven; [[fermented drink]]," {{lang|cu|kyselu}} "sour," -{{lang|cu|kyseti}} "to turn sour;" Czech {{lang|cs|kysati}} "to turn sour, rot;" Sanskrit kvathati "boils, seethes;" Gothic hwaþjan "foam"). Also compare fromage. Old Norse {{lang|non|ostr}}, Danish {{lang|da|ost}}, Swedish {{lang|sv|ost}} are related to Latin {{lang|la|ius}} "broth, sauce, juice."</blockquote>When the Romans began to make hard cheeses for their [[Legionary|legionaries]]' supplies, a new word started to be used: ''{{lang|la|formaticum}}'', from ''{{lang|la|caseus formatus}}'', or "molded cheese" (as in "formed", not "moldy"). It is from this word that the French ''{{lang|fr|fromage}}'', standard Italian ''{{lang|it|formaggio}}'', [[Catalan language|Catalan]] ''{{lang|ca|formatge}}'', [[Breton language|Breton]] ''{{lang|br|fourmaj}}'', and [[Occitan language|Occitan]] ''{{lang|oc|fromatge}}'' (or ''{{lang|oc|formatge}}'') are derived. Of the Romance languages, Spanish, [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[Romanian language|Romanian]], [[Tuscan dialect|Tuscan]] and Southern Italian dialects use words derived from ''{{lang|la|caseus}}'' (''{{lang|es|queso}}'', ''{{lang|pt|queijo}}'', ''{{lang|ro|caș}}'' and ''{{lang|nap|caso}}'' for example). The word ''cheese'' itself is occasionally employed in a sense that means "molded" or "formed". ''[[Head cheese]]'' uses the word in this sense. The term "cheese" is also used as a noun, verb and adjective in a [[#Figurative expressions|number of figurative expressions]] (e.g., "the big cheese", "to be cheesed off" and "cheesy lyrics").{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}