mescal

[ me-skal ]

/ mɛˈskæl /

noun

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.

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Origin of mescal

1695–1705, Americanism; < Mexican Spanish mescal, mezcal, mexcal < Nahuatl mexcalli intoxicant distilled from agave (perhaps equivalent to me(tl) maguey + (i)xcalli something cooked)

Words nearby mescal

mesarteritis, mesatipellic, mesatipellic pelvis, mesaxon, mesc, mescal, mescal bean, mescal button, mescalero, mescaline, mesclun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for mescal

By distillation, this yields a liquid, very similar to rum, called by the Mexicans mescal.
Birds and All Nature, Vol. VI, No. 5, December 1899|Various
Snap came to care not at all for her messages and tricks, and he let nothing interfere with his evening beside Mescal.
The Heritage of the Desert|Zane Grey
Snap Naab's wife was vindictive, and called Mescal "that Indian!"
The Heritage of the Desert|Zane Grey
He almost stumbled over Mescal, who sat with her back to a stone.
The Heritage of the Desert|Zane Grey

He questioned Piute and Mescal about the sheep, and was greatly pleased with their report.
The Heritage of the Desert|Zane Grey

British Dictionary definitions for mescal

mescal

/ (mɛˈskæl) /

noun

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

C19: from American Spanish, from Nahuatl mexcalli the liquor, from metl maguey + ixcalli stew

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