Dictionary.com
definitions

spirits of wine

noun
  1. alcohol(def 1).

Origin of spirits of wine

First recorded in 1745–55
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for spirits of wine

Historical Examples of spirits of wine

  • Spirits-of-wine is among the few things that can always be got of satisfactory quality and at moderate cost in every foreign port.

  • While the actors and fiddlers were going on, most of the spirits-of-wine lamps on altars went out.

    The Second Funeral of Napoleon

    William Makepeace Thackeray (AKA "Michael Angelo Titmarch")

British Dictionary definitions for spirits of wine

spirits of wine

noun
  1. (functioning as singular or plural) another name for alcohol (def. 1)
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