dairy

[dair-ee]

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noun, plural dair·ies for 1–4.

an establishment, as a room, building, or buildings, where milk and cream are kept and butter and cheese are made.

a shop or company that sells milk, butter, etc.

the business of a dairy farm, concerned with the production and treatment of milk and cream and the manufacture of butter and cheese.

dairy farm.

milk, or products made from or containing milk; dairy products, as butter and cheese: He avoids red meat, processed foods, and dairy in his diet.

(in Jewish dietary law) foods, including all milk products, eggs, fish, vegetables, etc., that may be eaten at a meal in which milk is served, in contrast to meat and meat products, which may not.

adjective

of or relating to a dairy or a dairy farm.

relating to or for milk, cream, butter, cheese, etc.: dairy products; the dairy case at a supermarket.

(in Jewish dietary law) of or relating to dairy, in contrast to meat and meat products.

Origin of dairy

1250–1300; Middle English daierie, equivalent to daie, deie dairymaid (Old English dǣge bread maker; cognate with Old Norse deigja; see lady) + -erie -ery

Can be confuseddairy diary

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for dairy

farm, buttery, factory, creamery

Examples from the Web for dairy

Contemporary Examples of dairy

A few weeks after returning from England, I was trolling the dairy section and came across the Cotswold Double Gloucester.
Biking With the Bard
Kara Cutruzzula
December 28, 2014
Like Lent, the season of Advent was a period of reflection and fasting, and items such as dairy and sugar were forbidden.
One Cake to Rule Them All: How Stollen Stole Our Hearts
Molly Hannon
December 24, 2014
Mixing meat and dairy is a kosher rule-breaker, so they switched the cheese for potatoes.
I Ate Potato Pancakes Til I Plotzed
Emily Shire
December 17, 2014
“I had no sugars, no dairy, I had no carbs,” James announced with pride.
2014 NBA Preview: Skinny LeBron and the Racist Ghost of Donald Sterling
Robert Silverman
October 27, 2014
The inability to refrigerate has meant the end of perishables in Mosul such as meat and dairy.
ISIS Robs Christians Fleeing Its Edict in Mosul: Convert, Leave, or Die
Andrew Slater
July 22, 2014

Historical Examples of dairy

Another, fitted up as a dairy, was hardly less of a picture.
In the Heart of Vosges
Matilda Betham-Edwards
If this be done constantly, the evil will be effectually cured: if not, it will be owing to the neglect of the dairy maid.
The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches,
Mary Eaton
First there is the dairy business, which I have already spoken of.
Brighter Britain! (Volume 1 of 2)
William Delisle Hay
This is rather common in dairy pastures and is found from May to September.
The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise
M. E. Hard
And Pete was clambering up the wall by the side of the dairy window.
The Manxman
Hall Caine

British Dictionary definitions for dairy

dairy

noun plural dairies

a company that supplies milk and milk products

a shop that sells provisions, esp milk and milk products
NZa shop that remains open outside normal trading hours

a room or building where milk and cream are stored or made into butter and cheese

(modifier)of or relating to the production of milk and milk productsdairy cattle
(in combination)a dairymaid; a dairyman

food containing milk or milk productsshe can't eat dairy
(as modifier)dairy produce

Word Origin for dairy

C13 daierie, from Old English dǣge servant girl, one who kneads bread; see dough, lady

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for dairy

late 13c., "building for making butter and cheese; dairy farm," formed with Anglo-French -erie affixed to Middle English daie (in daie maid "dairymaid"), from Old English dæge "kneader of bread, housekeeper, female servant" (see dey (n.1)). The purely native word was dey-house.