Fetta

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of fresh cheese commonly used in Mediterranean dishes, known for its crumbly texture and tangy flavor
2. A brined cheese made from sheep's milk or a mixture of sheep and goat's milk, often crumbled over salads and pastries
3. A traditional cheese that adds a distinctive salty taste to various recipes, often associated with Greek cuisine

Etymology: Feta is one of the few cheeses named for its shape rather than its place or maker. In Italian, "fetta" means "slice," and the Greek word "féta" was borrowed from that Italian term, so the cheese's name literally means something like "the slice." The spelling "fetta" is an alternative form of the same word, and the two are simply different ways of writing it in English. The Greek adoption is the key link in the chain. Greek speakers took the Italian word and applied it to a crumbly brined cheese, which is why the name now feels so bound up with Greek cooking, even though the word itself came into Greek from Italian.