martini
[mahr-tee-nee]
- a cocktail made with gin or vodka and dry vermouth, usually served with a green olive or a twist of lemon peel.
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Origin of martini
First recorded in 1885–90; perhaps alteration of Martinez (an earlier alternate name of the drink, of disputed orig.), by back formation (taking it as plural), or by association with the vermouth manufacturer Martini, Sola & Co. (later Martini & Rossi)
Martini
[mahr-tee-nee; Italian mahr-tee-nee]
- Si·mo·ne [see-maw-ne] /siˈmɔ nɛ/, 1283–1344, Italian painter.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for martini
Contemporary Examples
At the end of dinner he came down and sat in front of me with a martini.
'The Knick' Star Eve Hewson on Being Bono's Daughter and Injecting Cocaine Into Clive Owen's PenisKevin Fallon
August 7, 2014
After more innuendo-laden, sex-soaked back-and-forths, Eric poured a martini.
“I was just with him at the Minetta Tavern, having a martini and a burger,” she says.
Are there any martini glasses clinking when filming is done?
Pour yourself a martini—shaken, not stirred, of course—and enjoy.
‘Borgen,’ ‘The Thick of It,’ Bond: What to Watch During the Thanksgiving WeekendJace Lacob
November 21, 2012
Historical Examples
Hans and Mashune had also each a Martini rifle and some cartridges, not many.
Hunter Quatermain's StoryH. Rider Haggard
His rifle was a sporting Martini, and he had an ample supply of ammunition.
Benita, An African RomanceH. Rider Haggard
Belmont picked up the dead man's Martini and his ammunition-pouch.
A Desert DramaA. Conan Doyle
Maputa looked at the sporting Martini, and his eyes glistened.
Black Heart and White HeartH. Rider Haggard
He slipped his boot, and with the naked toe just touched the trigger of his Martini.
Soldier StoriesRudyard Kipling
Martini1
- trademark an Italian vermouth
- a cocktail of gin and vermouth
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Word Origin
C19 (sense 2): perhaps from the name of the inventor
Martini2
- Simone (siˈmoːne). ?1284–1344, Sienese painter
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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 martini
n.
1891, short for Martini cocktail (1886), perhaps from Martini & Rossi, Italian firm that makes vermouth (an ingredient of the drink); the firm was in existence then by that name, but it is not specified among the ingredients in the earliest recipes (e.g. Harry Johnson's "Bartender's Manual," 1888). Another theory holds that it is a corruption of Martinez, California, town where the drink was said to have originated. See discussion in Lowell Edmunds' book "Martini, Straight Up" (1998).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper