Cocktail Meaning
/ˈkɒk.teɪl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA mixed alcoholic beverage.
nounA mixture of other substances or things.
Sentence Examples
A Cuba Libre is a cocktail with a rum base.
Cocktail parties can be boring.
CEFR Practice Quiz
She stirred the bright red ____ before pouring it into a glass.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
We enjoyed a fruit ____ while we were waiting for our meal.
Word Origin & History
Early 17th century, from cock (“male bird”) + tail, in the sense “(a horse with its) tail standing up, like a cock’s”. The origin of the extension to “an alcoholic mixed drink” is unknown. One theory is that it refers to a stimulant (gingering), hence a stimulating drink; compare pick-me-up. Another attested use is for non-thoroughbred racehorses: these were considered "cock-tailed" due to their docked tails. This may have led to the term "cocktail" (sense 1) being used for an adulterated spirit.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"[...] a certain candidate has placed in his account of Loss and Gain, the following items:-- LOSS [...] 411 glasses bitters[,] 25 do. cock-tail"
— 1806 May 6, “Rum! Rum! Rum!”, in Balance and Columbian Repository, volume v, number 18, New York: Hudson, page 142:
"Cock tail, then, is a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters — it is vulgarly called bittered sling, and is supposed to be an excellent electioneering potion, inasmuch as it renders the heart stout and bold, at the same time that it fuddles the head."
— 1806 May 13, “Communication”, in Balance and Columbian Repository, volume v, number 19, New York: Hudson, page 146:
"Deane opened the fray by declaring, à propos of dinners, that the only proper way to create a cocktail of the genus Martini was to add a half-spoonful of sherry after the other ingredients had been satisfactorily mixed, if at all."
— 1904, Charlotte Bryson Taylor, “Chapter VI”, in In the Dwellings of the Wilderness:
"He moved majestically down to mix the cocktails. As he chipped ice, as he squeezed oranges, as he collected vast stores of bottles, glasses, and spoons at the sink in the pantry, he felt as authoritative as the bartender at Healey Hanson's saloon."
— 1922, Sinclair Lewis, “Chapter 8”, in Babbitt:
"The cocktail in Britain is a rigidly-defined social institution: each has its own particular meaning—the G & T is the alcoholic equivalent of the interview suit; Pernod and black is an alternative to glue sniffing for repentant trendies, etc."
— 2011, Mark Polonsky et al., USSR: From an Original Idea by Karl Marx, page 32:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She stirred the bright red ____ before pouring it into a glass.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
We enjoyed a fruit ____ while we were waiting for our meal.