vodka

CEFRB1

/ˈvɒdkə/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A strong clear alcoholic drink.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A serving of the above beverage.

Examples

  • They gave him a glass of orange juice laced with vodka.

  • I'd like a vodka and tonic.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
3

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. Neutral spirits distilled (or treated after distillation) so as to have no distinctive character, aroma, taste, or color.

  2. A clear distilled alcoholic liquor made from grain mash.

  3. Russian language.

More examples

In context

  • A vodka martini, please.

  • At Vessel, in Seattle, the bar manager, Jamie Boudreau, starts his cherry bitters by combining separate bourbon- and rye-based infusions with a touch of honey-flavored vodka and the Italian digestif amaro.

  • Eurydice pointed to the cupboard, and sat down on the low divan with folded hands, and looked at the floor. She was quite white. Elsa made her drink a glass of vodka.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

He poured a shot of blank, the neutral spirit with no distinct taste.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

Borrowed from Russian во́дка (vódka), from вода́ (vodá, “water”) + -ка (-ka, “-let: forming diminutives”). The archaic Russian name for vodka was хле́бное вино́ (xlébnoje vinó, “grain wine”); V. Pokhlyobkin's research suggests the present name derived from expressions concerning the dilution of the initial pure distilled spirit such as "vodka of grain wine". Cognates include Sanskrit उदक (udaka), Ancient Greek ὕδωρ (húdōr) → English hydro-, English whisky and English water.