whisky
/ˈwɪski
/(also Irish & US whiskey)
noun (plural whiskies)
1 [mass noun] A spirit distilled from malted grain, especially barley or rye: a bottle of whisky [count noun]: he poured her a stiff whisky...
- When they returned home they took bottles of whisky and vodka back with them and another row ensued.
- We take our water and mix it with malted barley or grain to make a drink called whisky.
- Maymond later told officers he had had six cans of lager, a bottle of whisky and had smoked a joint.
Synonyms
the water of life;
Irish & Scottish usquebaugh;
Scottish usque, screigh
informal screech
North American informal red-eye
2 (whiskey) A code word representing the letter W, used in radio communication.I AM EN I SPELL ECHO NOVEMBER EN ROUTE I SPELL ROMEO OSCAR UNIFORM TANGO ECHO ROUTE TO I SPELL TANGO OSCAR TO YOUR LOCATION WITH TWO I SPELL TANGO WHISKEY OSCAR TWO ANTENNAS PERIOD.
Origin
Early 18th century: abbreviation of obsolete whiskybae, variant of usquebaugh.
The root of whisky is the Gaelic word uisgebeatha, literally ‘water of life’. The spelling whisky is first recorded in 1715, but more Gaelic forms like usquebaugh and usquebae were used from the 16th century. Today whisky is the usual spelling for Scotch, and whiskey for Irish whiskey. The sense is found elsewhere—two terms for brandy also mean ‘water of life’, Latin aqua vitae and French eau de vie, whereas vodka is a diminutive form of ‘water’ in Russian.