mescal
- an intoxicating beverage distilled from the fermented juice of certain species of agave.
- any agave yielding this spirit.
- Also called peyote. either of two species of spineless, dome-shaped cactus, Lophophora williamsii or L. diffusa, of Texas and northern Mexico, yielding the hallucinogen peyote.
Origin of mescal
Examples from the Web for mescal
Historical Examples of mescal
He has eaten tunas, mescal, pinion nuts, and corn at my hawa.
The Indians of the Painted Desert RegionGeorge Wharton James
It grows in the valleys, while the mescal grows in the mountains.
Seven Mohave MythsA. L. Kroeber
Would you like some aguardiente de pesco, some mescal, or some chica?
The AdventurersGustave Aimard
The peddler called anxiously, "Will you give me some mescal?"
The Story of GeronimoJames Arthur Kjelgaard
“Your mescal probably killed him,” said Rodrigo indifferently.
The MissourianEugene P. (Eugene Percy) Lyle
mescal
- Also called: peyote a spineless globe-shaped cactus, Lophophora williamsii, of Mexico and the southwestern US. Its button-like tubercles (mescal buttons) contain mescaline and are chewed by certain Indian tribes for their hallucinogenic effects
- a colourless alcoholic spirit distilled from the fermented juice of certain agave plants
Word Origin for mescal
Word Origin and History for mescal
"plant of the genus Agave," found in deserts of Mexico and southwestern U.S., especially the American aloe, or maguey plant, 1702, from Mexican Spanish, from Nahuatl (Aztec) mexcalli "fermented drink made from agave," from metl "agave" + ixcalli "stew." Meaning "intoxicating liquor from fermented juice of the agave" is attested in English from 1828. Also the name of a small desert cactus (peyote) found in northern Mexico and southern Texas (1885).