aqua vitae
Americannoun
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Etymology
Origin of aqua vitae
1375–1425; late Middle English aqua vite < Latin: water of life; aquavit, whiskey
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Over time, roughly standard recipes emerged, with names that evoke a Hogwartsian blend of early herbology and outright alchemy: aqua mirabilis, water of flowers, saffron bitters, aqua vitae.
From New York Times
A bit of aqua vitae relieves tooth pains.
From Literature
In a world of contaminated and dangerous water supplies, alcohol truly earned the title granted it in the Middle Ages: aqua vitae, the “water of life.”
From Scientific American
I wish I could see their stall and drink aqua vitae with them.
From Project Gutenberg
So they took them down into the cabin, and gave them so much wine and aqua vitae that they were all merry.
From Project Gutenberg
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
