Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Variant of whiskey.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A kind of light gig or one-horse chaise. Sometimes called tim-whisky.
- n. An ardent spirit, distilled chiefly from grain. The term was originally applied to the spirit obtained from malt in Ireland, Scotland, etc., in which sense whisky is synonymous with usquebaugh. Irish whisky and Scotch whisky are still made from malt, and are known by numerous names, as poteen, mountaindew, etc. In the United States whisky is commonly made either from Indian corn (corn whisky) or from rye (rye whisky). The name wheat whisky has, however, been appropriated to certain brands, and wheat is probably used in the making of many different kinds or qualities.
Wiktionary
- n. An alcoholic liquor distilled from fermented grain and usually aged in in oak barrels
- n. A drink of this liquor.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. An intoxicating liquor distilled from grain, potatoes, etc., especially in Scotland, Ireland, and the United States. In the United States, whisky is generally distilled from maize, rye, or wheat, but in Scotland and Ireland it is often made from malted barley.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a liquor made from fermented mash of grain
Etymologies
- Early 18th century. Variant of usque, abbreviation of usquebaugh (compare obsolete whiskybae). From Scottish Gaelic uisge-beatha and Irish uisce beatha ("water of life"). Compare aquavit, from Latin aqua vitae ("water of life"). (Wiktionary)
Examples
“_ -- Under the term whisky will here be included all of those stronger alcoholic beverages that are the product of distillation.”
“May I add that the Belgians, the Bretons, the Corsicans, the Welsh and the Spaniards always use the term whisky, and not whiskey, for their own versions of the drink.”
“Rejectionist, your whisky is here on my bookshelf.”
“This indicates whether the whisky is full-bodied or light-bodied.”
“They say this evaporated whisky is for the angels.”
“First you get to go on a BARREL RIDE where a ghost tells you all about how whisky is made. it is very complicated and involves squishing a lot of barley together to make a fermented mash, and then adding yeast and doing lots of distilling.”
“Bloomberg News Bottles of Johnnie Walker Black Label whisky pass along the production line at a Diageo factory in Glasgow, Scotland.”
“One of the potencies of whisky is the breeding of thirst.”
“As you might guess from the title, it doesn't end in whisky and a ploughman's lunch down at the pub, although it might be said that there's lots of ham to be had.”
“My argument about oil and whisky is one you challenged, particularly if (for example) there was some sort of whisky disaster.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘whisky’.
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UK Usage - Find US Equivalent
All these terms have a (different) American English equivalent. Wonder if you can identify them?
abridgement (abri..., accoutrement, accoutre, acknowledgement (..., opposite, advert, adaptor, adapter, sticking plaster, advertise, adviser (advisor ..., adze, aesthete and 1196 more...
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Y
What a -Y does to an otherwise common, dull word
zany, waxy, wavy, arty, chewy, bony, boxy, cozy, nosy, foxy, wiry, junky and 321 more...
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Wine & Spirits
Vintage, toast, vodka, wine, whisky, beer, port, cocktail, stout, champagne, brandy, rum and 2 more...
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jaradgiese's Words
paronomasia, ostensible, insouciant, sobriquet, burlesque, insalubrious, apotheosis, hyperbole, connubial, felicity, florid, conurbation and 642 more...
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Dain's Words
rabble, terminus, archaic, atavism, demiurge, waylay, syzygy, jocoserious, quark, entropy, cinnabar, shamble and 912 more...
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Words that are fun to say
stipple, carbuncle, dongle, exemplar, misbegotten, gigolo, salubrious, jupiter, propinquity, piglet, tobogganing, supercilious and 309 more...
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punnything's Words
existentialist, configure, numismatist, autumnal, desist, ennui, taciturn, vacillate, naivete, bloodletting, tete-a-tete, concentric and 274 more...
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Rogue's Words for bonnie lads n lassies
tinchel, glen, sassenach, guddle, brae, bonnie, eejit, deerhound, hoonds, lassie, laddie, heiland and 188 more...
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I Drink Your...
I drink it up!
milkshake, smoothie, egg cream, coolatta, horchata, lassi, slurpee, Arnold Palmer, Shirley Temple, coffee, tea, cappuccino and 42 more...
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menagerie a trois
Names of our family pets.
shog, jake, purdy, ernie, victoria peckham, gregory, yellow, kif, pepsi, yoko, marmalade, jo and 37 more...
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Thou whoreson zed! Thou unnecessary l...
Judging from my French-English dictionary, which devotes only a page and a half to entries beginning with the letters W-Z, French has at least four candidates for the designation "unnecessary lette...
zut, zozoter, zozo, zoom, zoologique, zoologie, zoo, zoner, zone, zonard, zona, zodiaque and 54 more...
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Liquor is Quicker
Fermented and distilled.
usquebaugh, whisky, malt whisky, grain whisky, bourbon, scotch, gin, vodka, brandy, cognac, Armagnac, Pisco and 71 more...
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foodie list - drink me
absinthe, beer, carafe, claret, coffee, cream, wine, sherry, sarsaparilla, rum, decant, java and 20 more...
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The Barouche List: Need a Ride?
Bilby says I should have one. Even though most of these are on my other lists (the ones that weren't, I didn't really want to list).
barouche, buggy, carriage, cabriolet, randem, berlin, victoria, surrey, herdic, hansom, rockaway, cariole and 74 more...
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Mouth rhymes
baba ganoush, lángos, licorice, vanilla, salmiac, noodles, latkes, pistachios, dumpling, kumquat, whisky, couscous
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GGS DDU
stumble upon, day trader, hug, tightly, tight, sleep tight, lesbian, gay, homosexual, brokeback mountain, cv, résumé and 50 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for whisky.
oroboros See the booze news. Oct 22, 2008
reesetee Unless you're talking about a shay. Then don't see whiskey. :-) The nickname comes from people "whisking" around in the light carriage. Oct 22, 2008
oroboros See whiskey.
Edit: for the liquor, both -y and -ey spelling is acceptable. Oct 22, 2008
reesetee See shay. Oct 22, 2008