Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

usque

/ˈʌskweɪ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.58 in modern English

Syllables: usque
IPA: /ˈʌskweɪ/

14

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

1

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Countable; Obsolete; Uncountable

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *wed- Proto-Indo-European *-r̥ Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥der. Proto-Celtic *udenskyos Old Irish uisce Irish uisce Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós Proto-Celtic *biwos Proto-Celtic *-tūts Proto-Celtic *biwotūts Old Irish bethu Irish beatha Medieval Latin aqua vītaecalq. Irish uisce beathabor. ▲ Old Irish uisce Scottish Gaelic uisge ▲ Old Irish bethu Scottish Gaelic beatha Medieval Latin aqua vītaecalq. Scottish Gaelic uisge-beathabor. English usquebaugh English usque Abbreviation of usquebaugh, from Irish uisce beatha (“water of life”) and Scottish Gaelic uisge beatha (“water of life”). Compare whisky and obsolete whiskybae.

Origin

Source language: Irish

Word Breakdown

Root: uisce beatha, uisge beatha

Usage

Inflected Forms

usques (plural)

Questions

How do you pronounce usque?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈʌskweɪ/.
What does usque mean?: whisky
Where does usque come from?: It is traced to Irish.

How to pronounce usque

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “usque”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈʌskweɪ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “usque”.
Repeat and practice — Say “usque” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.