Whisky Meaning
/ˈwɪski/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAlternative form of whiskey, an alcoholic liquor distilled from fermented grain, usually aged in oak barrels, (particularly) Scotch; a drink of this liquor.
nounAlternative form of whiskey (“a light gig or carriage”).
Sentence Examples
See that guy over there at the counter drinking whisky? He's pretty much my type.
There is a bit of whisky in this bottle.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
He ordered a bottle of Scotch ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The region is famous for its high-quality ____, which is exported to many different countries around the whole world today.
Word Origin & History
Variant of usque, abbreviation of usquebaugh (compare obsolete whiskybae), from Scottish Gaelic uisge-beatha (“water of life”), calque of Medieval Latin aqua vitae. Compare akvavit, aquavit, aqua vitae, eau de vie, and water of life from the same source.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"That the young Mr. Churchills liked—but they did not like him coming round of an evening and drinking weak whisky-and-water while he held forth on railway debentures and corporation loans. Mr. Barrett, however, by fawning and flattery, seemed to be able to make not only Mrs. Churchill but everyone else do what he desired."
— 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter II, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
"Thereafter the route of the original line was followed to the harbour, beyond which an extension, a third of a mile long, led to the salt pans and a newly constructed inn, the "Stafford Arms", where Lady Stafford tried unsuccessfully to educate the locals to drink beer instead of a strong whisky."
— 1960 January 26, Iain D. O. Frew, “The Brora Colliery Tramway”, in Railway Magazine, page 56:
"At the appointed time Mr. Kettering’s one-horse chaise, or rather whisky, drove up to the door; for, as it was principally intended for him to visit his patients, when disinclined to mount his horse, it was built in the lightest manner, and without a head, that it might move with the greater expedition."
— 1797, Charlotte Lennox, chapter 4, in The History of Sir George Warrington, volume 1, London: J. Bell, page 46:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
He ordered a bottle of Scotch ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The region is famous for its high-quality ____, which is exported to many different countries around the whole world today.