Water of life

noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Synonym of aqua vitae, a distilled spirit. uncountable
  2. 2
    Synonym of whisky/whiskey. Scotland, uncountable
  3. 3
    Spiritual refreshment. figuratively, uncountable

Etymology

Chiefly a calque of Medieval Latin aqua vītae directly and via Scottish Gaelic uisge-beatha and Irish uisce beatha. Compare akvavit, aquavit, aqua vitae, eau de vie, whisky, and whiskey from the same sources. Compare also vodka, whose (borrowed) roots also refer to a special kind of water, as it were.

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