feta

American  

[fet-uh] / ˈfɛt ə /

noun

1. a soft, white, brine-cured Greek cheese made from sheep's milk or goat's milk.

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feta British  

/ ˈfɛtə /

noun

1. a white sheep or goat cheese popular in Greece

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Etymology

Origin of feta

1935–40; < Modern Greek, short for tyrì phéta, equivalent to tyrí cheese ( Greek tyrós ) + phéta slice < Italian fetta ( see fettuccine)

Explanation

Feta is a crumbly, tangy cheese that's traditionally made from sheep's milk. Feta is an ingredient in many Greek foods, like spanakopita, or spinach pie. If you've tasted feta, you know what a distinctly sharp, salty flavor this soft white cheese has. Traditional feta is formed into blocks and cured in brine to give it that taste. You can crumble feta into salads, omelets, sandwiches, or anything else that needs a little extra salt or tanginess. Feta is from the Modern Greek tyri pheta, "slice of cheese."

Example Sentences

To the European Union, Feta, though not a place name, can come only from a region of Greece that has millennia of tradition making that kind of cheese.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

Feta has to be made of at least 70% sheep's milk, with the remainder being goat's.

From BBC • Nov. 30, 2025

Feta cheese, which is naturally more acidic, served as an example of this safer variety.

From Science Daily • Oct. 21, 2025

Feta, of course, was the most obvious choice.

From Salon • Aug. 6, 2023

This last translates back into Queijo da Serra, the fattest, finest cheese in the world—on a par with fine Greek Feta.

From The Complete Book of Cheese by Brown, Robert Carlton