whiskey
/ˈwɪski/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.78 in modern English
20
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A liquor distilled from the fermented mash of grain (as rye, corn, or barley).
American usage; Countable; Uncountable
noun
Alternative letter-case form of Whiskey from the NATO/ICAO Phonetic Alphabet.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "The exceſſive drinking of ſpirituous liquours, eſpecially whiſkey, is now become ſo common, that more people are killed by them, than by ſmall-pox, fevers, broken limbs, accidents, and all other diſtempers put together. And we are credibly informed, that in one dram ſhop only in this town, there are 120 gallons of that accurſed ſpirit, whiſkey, ſold."
- "Then the boiling water was brought in, and such a jug of whiskey punch as was made! Take my word for it, - it did not, like honest Robin Craig's, require to be hung out on the bush to let the water drain out of it."
- "Ye Ladies of Lapland who beesoms bestride, Or, pair’d in Witch Whiskeys, aslant the Moon slide;"
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 English whiskey Variant of usque, abbreviation of usquebaugh, from Irish uisce beatha, calque of Medieval Latin aqua vītae (“water of life”). Compare akvavit, aquavit, aqua vitae, eau de vie, and water of life from the same source and vodka from a Russian diminutive for water in reference to the dilution of pure grain spirits.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Usage
- American usage
- Countable
- Uncountable