brandy

[bran-dee]

See more synonyms for brandy on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural bran·dies.

a spirit distilled from wine or from the fermented juice of grapes or of apples, peaches, plums, etc.

verb (used with object), bran·died, bran·dy·ing.

to mix, flavor, or preserve with brandy.

Origin of brandy

1615–25; short for brandywine < Dutch brandewijn burnt (i.e., distilled) wine

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for brandy

whiskey, cognac, marc

Examples from the Web for brandy

Contemporary Examples of brandy

Now the gut was fueled not by Romanée-Conti and Château d'Yquem but by brandy--and a hell of a lot of it.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days
David Freeman
December 13, 2014
Claret for boys, port for men, and brandy for heroes, according to Dr. Johnson, and Hitch went for the heroic.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days
David Freeman
December 13, 2014
But while McCartney was sipping a brandy, Lennon snuck up behind the future Sir Paul and clocked him on the back of the head.
The Man Who Captured the Beatles Magic
Chantel Tattoli
June 16, 2014
So as they spy on us, we have a civic duty to return the favor - just like Brandy did with her smartphone.
Stand Your Ground With Your Smartphone
Joe McLean
February 25, 2014
I gave him some brandy from my medicinal store, which he drank with a grimace.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show
Robert W. Chambers
February 20, 2014

Historical Examples of brandy

We took in a return cargo of brandy, and sailed for Philadelphia.
Ned Myers
James Fenimore Cooper
When we reached his craft, he poured out a glass of brandy and offered it to me.
Ned Myers
James Fenimore Cooper
In short, neither ribands nor brandy could bring them to reason.
Tales And Novels, Volume 3 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
Carefully keep the air from them, and let them remain in the brandy for a week.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie
Mix all together, and moisten it with a quart of Madeira, and a pint of brandy.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie

British Dictionary definitions for brandy

brandy

noun plural -dies

an alcoholic drink consisting of spirit distilled from grape wine
a distillation of wines made from other fruitsplum brandy

Word Origin for brandy

C17: from earlier brandewine, from Dutch brandewijn burnt wine, from bernen to burn or distil + wijn wine; compare German Branntwein

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for brandy

1650s, abbreviation of brandywine (1620s) from Dutch brandewijn "burnt wine," so called because it is distilled (cf. German cognate Branntwein and Czech palenka "brandy," from paliti "to burn"). The Brandywine Creek in Pennsylvania, site of a Revolutionary War battle, supposedly so named by the Dutch for the color of its waters.