Cocktail
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A mixed alcoholic beverage.
"They visited a bar noted for its wide range of cocktails."
- 2 an appetizer served as a first course at a meal wordnet
- 3 A mixture of other substances or things. broadly
"Scientists found a cocktail of pollutants in the river downstream from the chemical factory."
- 4 a short mixed drink wordnet
- 5 A horse, not of pure breed, but having only one eighth or one sixteenth impure blood in its veins.
"A “cock-tail” is a horse not purely bred, but with only one-eighth or one-sixteenth impure blood in his veins"
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 A mean, half-hearted fellow. UK, dated, slang
"It was in the second affair that poor little Barney showed he was a cocktail."
- 7 A species of rove beetle, so called from its habit of elevating the tail.
- 1 To adulterate (fuel, etc.) by mixing in other substances. transitive
- 2 To treat (a person) to cocktails. transitive
"He dined and cocktailed her at the most exclusive bars and restaurants."
- 1 Ostentatiously lacking in manners. obsolete
"It looks very cocktail to be seen riding through the streets of London in a scarlet coat ;"
Example
More examples"A Cuba Libre is a cocktail with a rum base."
Etymology
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.