Crowdie

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A soft, crumbly white cheese made from skimmed milk in Scotland ; a traditional Scottish dish of oatmeal stirred into cold water or milk
2. A fresh, mild Scottish cheese with a crumbly texture ; a simple Highland food made by mixing oatmeal with cold water
3. Soft, unripened white cheese traditionally produced in Scotland ; a plain dish of oatmeal blended with cold water or milk

Etymology: Scottish "crowdie" is a soft, crumbly cheese, and its name is an alteration of the Early Scots word "crud", meaning "curd". The same root gave English "crud" and "crudde" in the Middle English period, and the Scots form has kept a sense of curdled milk that English speakers have largely lost. Where the ultimate source of "crud" lies is unknown, so the trail ends there. The change from "crud" to "crowdie" is a matter of spelling and sound drift, with the vowel shifting in Scots pronunciation until the word took its present shape. Few other English-family words show such a clear link between a dairy product and a short, blunt syllable like "crud".