Dictionary

koumiss en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈkuːmɪs/

Etymology

Via French koumis, German Kumiss, from Russian кумы́с (kumýs), borrowed from a Turkic source. Compare Tatar кымыз (qımız), Kazakh қымыз (qımız), Kyrgyz кымыз (kımız), Southern Altai кымыс (kïmïs), Turkish kımız, Azerbaijani qımız, Northern Altai кымыс (kïmïs), etc.

Meanings

1. (uncountable, usually) A fermented drink made from mare's milk, common among peoples of the Central Asian steppes.
   • Here, for example—a Scythian koumiss vessel, third century B.C. You can clearly see the Greek influence, especially in the friezework. 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage 2007, page 688:
   • [Of a Persian wine] One name for this wine was 黑水晶 "black crystal"; it has also been confused with koumiss. 1898, Herbert Allen Giles, A Chinese Biographical Dictionary, page 12:

Forms

Translations (60)

ja クミス (fermented drink) · fa کومیس (fermented drink) · cy gwirod llaeth (fermented drink) · de Kumys (fermented drink) · ky кымыз (fermented drink) · he קומיס (fermented drink) · eo kumiso (fermented drink) · ru кумы́с (fermented drink) · hu kumisz (fermented drink) · ba ҡымыҙ (fermented drink) · fr koumis (fermented drink) · atv кымыс (fermented drink) · es kumis (fermented drink) · mn айраг (fermented drink) · tk gymyz (fermented drink) · kum къымыз (fermented drink) · ar قَمِيز (fermented drink) · ug قىمىز (fermented drink) · uz qimiz (fermented drink) · cy cwmis (fermented drink) · la cosmos (fermented drink) · ka კუმისი (fermented drink) · mn ᠠᠶᠢᠷᠠᠭ (fermented drink) · mn цэгээ (fermented drink) · it kumis (fermented drink) · tt кымыз (fermented drink) · bg куми́с (fermented drink) · sv kumiss (fermented drink) · ko 마유주 (fermented drink) · sv kumys (fermented drink) · az qımız (fermented drink) · pt kumis (fermented drink) · nog кымыз (fermented drink) · nl koemis (fermented drink) · alt кымыс (fermented drink) · cjs қымыс (fermented drink) · pms koumyss (fermented drink) · cs kumys (fermented drink) · ca kumis (fermented drink) · uk куми́с (fermented drink) · tyv хымыс (fermented drink) · sah кымыс (fermented drink) · be кумы́с (fermented drink) · sk kumys (fermented drink) · cmn 馬奶酒 /马奶酒 (fermented drink) · ko 쿠미스 (fermented drink) · ar كُومِيس (fermented drink) · hy կումիս (fermented drink) · fa قمیز (fermented drink) · kjh хымыс (fermented drink) · ja 馬乳酒 (fermented drink) · mn ᠴᠡᠭᠡ (fermented drink) · vi rượu sữa ngựa (fermented drink) · bua сэгээ (fermented drink) · lt kumysas (fermented drink) · fi kumissi (fermented drink) · kk қымыз (fermented drink) · pl kumys (fermented drink) · tr kımız (fermented drink) · fo kumys (fermented drink)