Usque

//ˈʌskweɪ// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    whisky countable, obsolete, uncountable

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *wed- Proto-Indo-European *-r̥ Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥der. Proto-Celtic *udenskyos Old Irish uisce Irish uisce Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós Proto-Celtic *biwos Proto-Celtic *-tūts Proto-Celtic *biwotūts Old Irish bethu Irish beatha Medieval Latin aqua vītaecalq. Irish uisce beathabor. ▲ Old Irish uisce Scottish Gaelic uisge ▲ Old Irish bethu Scottish Gaelic beatha Medieval Latin aqua vītaecalq. Scottish Gaelic uisge-beathabor. English usquebaugh English usque Abbreviation of usquebaugh, from Irish uisce beatha (“water of life”) and Scottish Gaelic uisge beatha (“water of life”). Compare whisky and obsolete whiskybae.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.