Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun See kumiss.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun An intoxicating fermented or distilled liquor originally made by the Tartars of central Asia from mare's or camel's milk. It can be obtained from any kind of milk, and is now largely made in Europe.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A fermented drink made from mare's milk, common among peoples of the Central Asian steppes.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an alcoholic beverage made from fermented mare's milk; made originally by nomads of central Asia

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Via French koumis, German Kumiss, from Russian кумыс (kumýs), borrowed from a Turkic source. Compare Tatar кымыз (kımız), Kazakh қымыз (qımız), Kyrgyz кымыз (kımız), Turkish kımız, Azeri qımız.

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Examples

  • [16] The Tartars use an intoxicating liquor called koumiss, made from mare's or camel's milk.

    Narrative and Lyric Poems (first series) for use in the Lower School O. J. Stevenson

  • Lactic acid sours milk, and gives yogurt and other forms of sour milk such as koumiss, kefir, and leban their distinct flavor.

    Archive 2007-09-01 Steve Carper 2007

  • Lactic acid sours milk, and gives yogurt and other forms of sour milk such as koumiss, kefir, and leban their distinct flavor.

    Fermented Food Isn't Cultured Food Steve Carper 2007

  • Mare's milk is still drunk in Kazakhstan, a country in which horse traditions run deep, and is usually fermented into a slightly alcoholic drink called 'koumiss'.

    Spero News 2009

  • Mare's milk is still drunk in Kazakhstan, a country in which horse traditions run deep, and is usually fermented into a slightly alcoholic drink called 'koumiss'.

    gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine 2009

  • a country in which horse traditions run deep, and is usually fermented into a slightly alcoholic drink called 'koumiss'.

    Media Newswire 2009

  • And koumiss, a drink still important to the regional diet today, is made from mare's milk.

    Tracking Equine Evolution Mark Yost 2011

  • I chose some terms at random and looked them up: oleic acid, no entry; jugged hare, found; waterzooi, found; cracklings, found; koumiss, found; ergot, not found.

    Stuff it! 2006

  • I chose some terms at random and looked them up: oleic acid, no entry; jugged hare, found; waterzooi, found; cracklings, found; koumiss, found; ergot, not found.

    The Food Encyclopedia 2006

  • Even so, frequent contact with central Asian nomads introduced a variety of dairy products to China, whose elite long enjoyed yogurt, koumiss, butter, acid-set curds, and, around 1300 and thanks to the Mongols, even milk in their tea!

    On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Harold McGee 2004

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  • Also transliterated kumis, and various alternates. Known in Mongolia as airag.

    December 23, 2008