Etymology

cheeselet

cheese·let
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Today it means: A small, usually roundish lump of cheese; a baby cheese; specifically, a particular type made with sheep's milk in Malta. Full definition →

Maltese ġbejna
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The story

  1. Maltese · calque ofġbejna
  2. English todaycheeselet

From cheese + -let (diminutive suffix). Sense 1 has been reinforced by the word’s use as a calque of Maltese ġbejna (literally “little cheese”), a diminutive of ġobon (“cheese”).

Words from the same roots

Malteseġbejna all →

ġbejna

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.