Yogourt

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A thick, creamy food made by fermenting milk with bacteria cultures, often flavored with fruit or sweetener
2. A dairy product produced by the bacterial fermentation of milk, typically eaten as a dessert or breakfast item
3. A tangy, custard-like food created through the controlled souring and thickening of milk by live cultures

Etymology: "Yogourt" is the French-influenced spelling of the same word as "yogurt," and it was taken into English from French. The French form, "yogourt" or "yoghourt," came from Turkish "yoğurt," the word for the thickened, fermented milk that has long been a staple across the Turkish-speaking world and the Balkans. The Turkish word itself is what gives the dish its name, so the English spelling records a route that ran from Turkish kitchens through French cookery into English. The variant spelling reflects French influence. French writers transcribed the Turkish sound with their own letter conventions, producing "yogourt" and "yoghourt," and English speakers who adopted the word from French kept those forms alongside the spelling "yogurt" that followed the Turkish more closely. Both spellings remain in use, with "yogurt" the more common choice today, but "yogourt" preserves the trace of the French intermediary.

Synonyms: yogurt, yoghurt