Well attestedFrom the people of the place
American cheese
noun · first attested 19th century
It names a country; in US law it now means processed cheese.
A mild, pale, highly meltable cheese that in the United States legally denotes a pasteurized process product.
39.8280°N -98.5790°W · Q30
Record
- Relationship
- From the people of the place
- Confidence
- Well attestedThe place link is the standard scholarly account.
- Attested
- 19th century
- Part of speech
- noun
Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.
- Step 1
United States
- In English
American cheese
Before processing existed, American-made cheddar sold at home and abroad was simply called American cheese. The modern sense arrived in the early twentieth century, when process cheese took over the name and the older meaning quietly died.
Also pinned to United States
1 more from the same place
United States
All 153 entries 151 more words from United States
tuxedoAmerican evening dress is named for a Hudson Valley club.Tuxedo ParkbourbonThe whiskey is named for a Kentucky county, itself named for a French dynasty.Bourbon CountybunkumNonsense is named after a North Carolina county.Buncombe CountyhoochBootleg liquor is named for a Tlingit community in Alaska.AngoonnorovirusThe winter vomiting bug is named for a town in Ohio.NorwalktularemiaThe disease is named for a county in California.Tulare CountyWatergateThe suffix for every scandal since is a Washington office block.Watergate complexbluepointThe oyster is named for a hamlet on Long Island.Blue Point