Drinkwater
adj, name, noun ·3 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Potable water; water intended for drinking uncountable
"In very dry seasons some drinkwater is brought from wells dug in the bed of the river, about half-an hour from the village."
- 1 Small, rural, and insignificant. not-comparable
"And for a moment it seemed that everything would be all right, that we were traveling back in time to that idyllic farm near a drinkwater town in Iowa, back to my boyhood, and that Mina would always smile up at me from her bed."
- 1 A surname transferred from the nickname.
Example
More examples"In very dry seasons some drinkwater is brought from wells dug in the bed of the river, about half-an hour from the village."
Etymology
From drink + water, a nickname given to a pauper or miser, unable or unwilling to afford beer; or alternatively, a nickname given to an innkeeper or a noted tippler.
From Middle English drinkwater (attested as a nickname), equivalent to drink + water. Compare Saterland Frisian Drinkwoater (“drinkwater”), West Frisian drinkwetter (“drinkwater”), Dutch drinkwater (“drinkwater”), German Low German Drinkwater (“drinkwater”), German Trinkwasser (“drinkwater”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.