hippocras

American  

[hip-uh-kras] / ˈhɪp əˌkræs /

noun

1. an old medicinal cordial made of wine mixed with spices.

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hippocras British  

/ ˈhɪpəʊˌkræs /

noun

1. an old English drink of wine flavoured with spices

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Etymology

Origin of hippocras

1325–75; Middle English ypocras, apparently short for ypocras wyn (translation of Medieval Latin vīnum hippocraticum; so called because clarified by filtering through a strainer named after Hippocrates); Middle English ypocras < Old French: Hippocrates < Medieval Latin Hippocrās, alteration of Latin Hippocratēs, on model of words like cīvitās (nominative), cīvitātis (genitive)

Example Sentences

According to several medieval cookbooks the most common of the sweet, spiced wines in the late middle-ages were still referred to as hippocras, with the term "mulled wine" coming later.

From Salon • Sep. 1, 2022

The page who had brought Sir Agravaine’s hippocras came in from the cloister door.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

“Would you like a glass of hippocras, or some perry?”

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Neither wine nor hippocras had befogged the stout heads of the Assyrians, nor loosened their canny tongues.

From Sulamith: A Romance of Antiquity by Kuprin, A. I. (Aleksandr Ivanovich)

A silver basket held a store of thin toasted rye-cakes, and by the monk's hand stood a flagon of that drink most dear to holy palates, the rich syrupy hippocras.

From The Path of the King by Buchan, John