whisky
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whis·key
also whis·ky (wĭs′kē, hwĭs′-)n. pl. whis·keys also whis·kies
1. An alcoholic liquor distilled from grain, such as corn, rye, or barley, and containing approximately 40 to 50 percent ethyl alcohol by volume.
2. A drink of such liquor.
[Shortening and alteration of usquebaugh.]
Word History: The words water, whiskey, and vodka flow from a common source, the Indo-European root *wed-, "water, wet." This root could appear in several guises, as *wed-, *wod-, or *ud-. Water is a native English word that goes back by way of prehistoric Common Germanic *watar to the Indo-European suffixed form *wod-ōr, with an o. Whiskey is a shortened form of usquebaugh, which English borrowed from Irish Gaelic uisce beatha and Scottish Gaelic uisge beatha. This compound descends from Old Irish uisce, "water," and bethad, "of life," meaning literally "water of life." (It thus meant the same thing as the name of another drink, aquavit, which comes from Latin aqua vītae, "water of life.") Uisce comes from the Indo-European suffixed form *ud-skio-. Finally, the name of another alcoholic drink, vodka, comes into English from Russian, where it means literally "little water," as it is a diminutive of voda, "water"—a euphemism if ever there was one. Voda comes from the same Indo-European form as English water, but has a different suffix: *wod-ā.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
whisky
(ˈwɪskɪ)n, pl -kies
(Brewing) a spirit made by distilling fermented cereals, which is matured and often blended
[C18: shortened from whiskybae, from Scottish Gaelic uisge beatha, literally: water of life; see usquebaugh]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
whis•key
or whis•ky
(ˈʰwɪs ki, ˈwɪs-)n., pl. -keys or -kies.
1. an alcoholic liquor distilled from a fermented mash of grain, as barley, rye, or corn.
2. a drink of whiskey.
[1705–15; short for whiskybae < Irish uisce beatha or Scottish Gaelic uisge beatha, ultimately translation of Medieval Latin aqua vitae literally, water of life; compare usquebaugh]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
Noun | 1. | whisky - a liquor made from fermented mash of grain booze, hard drink, hard liquor, John Barleycorn, liquor, spirits, strong drink - an alcoholic beverage that is distilled rather than fermented blended whiskey, blended whisky - mixture of two or more whiskeys or of a whiskey and neutral spirits bourbon - whiskey distilled from a mash of corn and malt and rye and aged in charred oak barrels Scotch malt whiskey, Scotch malt whisky, Scotch whiskey, Scotch whisky, malt whiskey, malt whisky, Scotch - whiskey distilled in Scotland; especially whiskey made from malted barley in a pot still sour mash whiskey, sour mash - any whiskey distilled from sour mash manhattan - a cocktail made with whiskey and sweet vermouth with a dash of bitters old fashioned - a cocktail made of whiskey and bitters and sugar with fruit slices whiskey sour, whisky sour - a sour made with whiskey |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
whisky
noun Scotch, malt, rye, bourbon, firewater, John Barleycorn, usquebaugh (Gaelic), barley-bree (Scot.) a glass of whisky
Quotations
"Freedom and Whisky gang thegither!" [Robert Burns The Author's Earnest Cry and Prayer]
"a torchlight procession marching down your throat" [John L. O'Sullivan (of whisky)]
"Freedom and Whisky gang thegither!" [Robert Burns The Author's Earnest Cry and Prayer]
"a torchlight procession marching down your throat" [John L. O'Sullivan (of whisky)]
Whiskies
blend, blended whisky, bourbon, corn whisky, grain whisky, hokonui (N.Z.), Irish whiskey, malt or malt whisky, poteen or poitín, redeye (U.S. slang), rye, Scotch, shebeen or shebean (Irish), single malt, sour mash, vatted maltCollins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
وِسْكيويسْكي
уиски
whisky
whisky
viskio
viski
viski
viski
whisky
viskí
ウイスキー
위스키
viskis
viskijs
whisky
whisky
วิสกี้
віскігорілка
rượu whisky
whisky
whiskey (US, Irl) [ˈwɪskɪ] N → whisky mwhisky and soda → whisky m con sifón, whisky m con soda
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
whisky
, (US, Ir) whiskeyCollins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
whisky
(ˈwiski) (Irish and American) whiskey noun a type of alcoholic drink made from grain.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
whisky
→ وِسْكي whisky whisky Whisky ουίσκι whisky viski whisky viski whisky ウイスキー 위스키 whisky whisky whisky uísque виски whisky วิสกี้ viski rượu whisky 威士忌Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
Collins Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009