/keuh fear"/ , Middle Eastern Cookery.
a tart-tasting drink originally of the Caucasus, made from cow's or sometimes goat's milk to which the bacteria Streptococcus and Lactobacillus have been added.
[ 1880-85; kefír, appar. k'aepy, k'aepu kefir, Mingrelian kipuri milk curdled in an animal skin ]