Camembert
/ˌkæm.əmˈbɛər/noun
A soft, creamy French cheese with a bloomy white rind.
Did you know?Camembert is a proper name turned food word: it comes from the village of Camembert in Normandy, and the cheese’s fame spread so widely that the place name became an international culinary symbol.
Etymological Timeline
Late 18th Century
French
Camembert
“A cheese associated with the village of Camembert in Normandy”
18th Century
French
Camembert
“The place name Camembert, a village in Normandy”
Medieval Latin
Latin
camera
“A chamber or vaulted room; source of the place-name element in some Romance formations, but not the cheese name itself”
Modern English
English
Camembert
“The cheese name borrowed from French”