martini

[mahr-tee-nee]

noun, plural mar·ti·nis.

a cocktail made with gin or vodka and dry vermouth, usually served with a green olive or a twist of lemon peel.

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]

noun

Si·mo·ne

[see-maw-ne] /siˈmɔ nɛ/, 1283–1344, Italian painter.

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

Examples from the Web for martini

Contemporary Examples of martini

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 Penis
Kevin Fallon
August 7, 2014
After more innuendo-laden, sex-soaked back-and-forths, Eric poured a martini.
Inside True Blood’s Steamy Gay Sex Scene
Kevin Fallon
June 30, 2014
“I was just with him at the Minetta Tavern, having a martini and a burger,” she says.
‘The Good Wife’s Christine Baranski on Life After Will Gardner’s Death
Jason Lynch
April 21, 2014
Are there any martini glasses clinking when filming is done?
Emmys 2013: Linda Cardellini on ‘Mad Men,’ ‘Freaks and Geeks,’ and More
Marlow Stern
August 21, 2013
Pour yourself a martini—shaken, not stirred, of course—and enjoy.
‘Borgen,’ ‘The Thick of It,’ Bond: What to Watch During the Thanksgiving Weekend
Jace Lacob
November 21, 2012

Historical Examples of martini

Hans and Mashune had also each a Martini rifle and some cartridges, not many.
Hunter Quatermain's Story
H. Rider Haggard
His rifle was a sporting Martini, and he had an ample supply of ammunition.
Benita, An African Romance
H. Rider Haggard
Belmont picked up the dead man's Martini and his ammunition-pouch.
A Desert Drama
A. Conan Doyle
Maputa looked at the sporting Martini, and his eyes glistened.
Black Heart and White Heart
H. Rider Haggard
He slipped his boot, and with the naked toe just touched the trigger of his Martini.
Soldier Stories
Rudyard Kipling

British Dictionary definitions for martini

Martini

noun plural -nis

trademark an Italian vermouth

a cocktail of gin and vermouth

Word Origin for Martini

C19 (sense 2): perhaps from the name of the inventor

Martini

noun

Simone (siˈmoːne). ?1284–1344, Sienese painter

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

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).