chevre
UK[ˈʃɛvrə]US[ˈʃɛvrə]
n
A type of cheese, especially one from France, made from goat's milk.
Etymology
The word 'chevre' is a direct borrowing from modern French, where 'chèvre' simply means "goat." The term entered English specifically to denote goat's milk cheese, particularly those produced in France. Its ultimate origin is the Latin word 'capra', meaning "she-goat," which itself derives from the Proto-Indo-European root kapro-, meaning "he-goat, buck." The semantic journey is straightforward: the French word for the animal was adopted into English as a culinary term for the dairy product derived from it, reflecting the cheese's place of origin and primary ingredient.
Analysis
The word is a simplex loanword from French. It is not productively segmented in English using English morphemes.
Examples
The cheese board featured a creamy, tangy chevre from the Loire Valley.
She crumbled some chevre over the salad for a sharp, acidic flavor.
Compared to cow's milk cheese, a good chevre has a distinctive earthy taste.