noekkelost

noun

noek·​kel·​ost

ˈnə̄kəˌlōst

variants or nokkelost

ˈnäkəˌlȯst

plural -s

: a dark cheese made from whole or partly skimmed milk and spiced with cumin, caraway, or cloves, or all three

Word History

Etymology

Norwegian nøkkelost, from nøkkel key + ost cheese; from its being modeled after cheese from Leiden, Holland, that was marked with the crossed keys of Leiden's escutcheon

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