water from the vine: Musings 01

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definition

from L., lit. "water of life," 1471 as an alchemical term for unrefined alcohol. Applied to brandy, whiskey, etc. from 1547. Cf. whiskey, Fr. eau-de-vie "spirits, brandy," lit. "water of life."

Akvavit (also spelled aquavit or akevitt) is a flavored spirit that is produced in Scandinavia and typically contains 40% alcohol by volume. Its name comes from aqua vitae, the Latin for “water of life,” and is pronounced /AHKV?-veet/.

history

An apocryphal story holds that akvavit actually means “water from the vine,” a picturesque folk etymology derived through conflation of Latin vitae (genitive of vita) with the Italian vite (vine).