whiskey

B2 Topic:Food & Drink

Also spelled whisky

US /ˈwɪski/ See IPA manual

Freq #3761

Meanings

1

noun
A strong alcoholic drink made from grain such as barley, corn, or rye.

He poured himself a small glass of whiskey after dinner.
2

noun
A glass or serving of this drink.

She ordered a whiskey at the bar.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a strong alcoholic drink... whisky

Word family

Forms whiskeys

Derived forms if-by-whiskeypisskeywhiskey-jackwhiskeyleakswhiskeytini

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

scotch whiskey
whiskey produced in Scotland

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Whisky, recorded from the early 18th century, comes from Gaelic usquebaugh, recorded from the early 16th century and derived from uisge beatha, literally “water of life.”

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, abbrevia…

uisce beatha ga aqua vītae la-med

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Food & Drink

External links

# whiskey

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈwɪski/
**Frequency rank:** 3761

## Meanings
1. A strong alcoholic drink made from grain such as barley, corn, or rye.
2. A glass or serving of this drink.

## Examples
- He poured himself a small glass of whiskey after dinner.
- She ordered a whiskey at the bar.

## Derived Forms
- if-by-whiskey
- pisskey
- whiskey-jack
- whiskeyleaks
- whiskeytini

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: uisce beatha
- Root: aqua vītae

## 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, abbrevia…

## AI Etymology
Whiskey: The etymological chain runs Proto-Indo-European *wed- -> Proto-Indo-European *-r̥ -> Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥ -> 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 beatha -> ▲ -> Scottish Gaelic uisge -> Scottish Gaelic beatha -> Scottish Gaelic uisge-beatha. Important historical forms include ga uisce beatha, and Medieval Latin aqua vītae. In present-day use, it can mean a strong alcoholic drink made from grain such as barley, corn, or rye, or a glass or serving of this drink.

## Topics
- Food & Drink

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