from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Cheese \Cheese\ (ch[=e]z), n. [OE. chese, AS. c[=e]se, fr. L.
caseus, LL. casius. Cf. {Casein}.]
1. The curd of milk, coagulated usually with rennet,
separated from the whey, and pressed into a solid mass in
a hoop or mold.
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2. A mass of pomace, or ground apples, pressed together in
the form of a cheese.
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3. The flat, circular, mucilaginous fruit of the dwarf mallow
({Malva rotundifolia}). [Colloq.]
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4. A low courtesy; -- so called on account of the cheese form
assumed by a woman's dress when she stoops after extending
the skirts by a rapid gyration. --De Quincey. --Thackeray.
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{Cheese cake}, a cake made of or filled with, a composition
of soft curds, sugar, and butter. --Prior.
{Cheese fly} (Zool.), a black dipterous insect ({Piophila
casei}) of which the larv[ae] or maggots, called skippers
or hoppers, live in cheese.
{Cheese mite} (Zool.), a minute mite ({Tryoglyhus siro}) in
cheese and other articles of food.
{Cheese press}, a press used in making cheese, to separate
the whey from the curd, and to press the curd into a mold.
{Cheese rennet} (Bot.), a plant of the Madder family ({Golium
verum}, or {yellow bedstraw}), sometimes used to coagulate
milk. The roots are used as a substitute for madder.
{Cheese vat}, a vat or tub in which the curd is formed and
cut or broken, in cheese making.
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