aguardiente

[ah-gwahr-dee-en-tee, ah-gwahr-thyen-te]

noun

1. a type of brandy made in Spain and Portugal.

2. a liquor, popular in South and Central America, made from sugarcane.

3. (in Spanish-speaking countries) any distilled spirit.

aguardiente

/ aɣwarˈðjente /

noun

1. any inferior brandy or similar spirit, esp from Spain, Portugal, or South America

Word History and Origins

Origin of aguardiente¹

An Americanism first recorded in 1815–25; from Spanish, contraction of agua ardiente literally, “fiery water”; aqua, ardent

Word History and Origins

Origin of aguardiente¹

C19: literally: burning water

Example Sentences

Hard to know what restaurant food was like in that long ago, but very likely beef, the region’s major food group, or mutton, with potatoes and onions and a palate cleanser of beer or wine or the local liquor, aguardiente.

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Each volador takes a turn walking around the tree with the incense and flowers, and sprinkling it with holy water and aguardiente.

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The principal grape drink was aguardiente, a portmanteau meaning “burning water,” a brandy of considerable ferocity.

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It is distinct from other cane sugar liquors, including Colombian aguardiente, because the sugar cane must be grown next to the sea or a river and alongside other crops native to the region that producers say give viche its distinct smoky-citrus taste.

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Lexicographer Francisco Sobrino defined ponche or diapente, in 1732, as an English drink made with aguardiente, water, lime and sugar.

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