Maitrankn.
/ˈmʌɪtraŋk/, U.S. /ˈmaɪtræŋk/ Chiefly in German or German-speaking contexts: wine flavoured with sugar and woodruff; a drink of this. Cf. May drink n. at May n.2 Compounds 1d.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > wine > drinks made with wine > [noun] > wine flavoured with herbs
sage wine1597
purl royal1675
cool tankard1688
cool cup1775
May drink1851
Maitrank1858
May wine1890
May bowl1951
1852 T. F. Betton tr. V. Regnault Elements Chem. II. 661 Its existence [i.e. that of coumarin] has been detected in the flowers of the melilot, and the sweet woodruff, called waldmeister by the Germans, who use it in the preparation of an agreeable beverage, called maitrank.]
1858 ‘G. Eliot’ Jrnl. 26 May (1998) 317 Delicious Mai-trank, made by putting the fresh ‘Waldmeister’—a cruciferous plant with a small white flower..into mild wine, together with sugar.
a1896 G. Du Maurier Martian (1897) 273 You might sit for sixpence in a pretty garden and drink coffee, beer, or Maitrank.
1899 G. Jekyll Wood & Garden vi. 60 The pretty little Woodruff..revives memories..of Maitrank, that best of the ‘cup’ tribe of pleasant drinks, whose flavour is borrowed from its flowering tips.
1908 E. R. Emerson Beverages II. ii. 51 The Herr German finds a more poetical use for it [i.e. woodruff] by infusing it in wine and making his celebrated maitrank.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2000; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1858