spirits of wine

noun

1. alcohol.

spirits of wine

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of spirits of wine¹

First recorded in 1745–55

Example Sentences

“It is almost seventy years old and preserved in spirits of wine. I am afraid it will disintegrate if we remove it.”

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The fuel used consisted exclusively of spirits of wine, the cocoa, or pemmican soup, being cooked in an iron pot over a shallow lamp with seven wicks.

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What a panic seized me," he says himself, "when I saw the water under me like blue flames of burning spirits of wine!

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To remedy this evil, spirits of wine are furnished to keepers, but does not wholly remove the difficulty.

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The timber is used for making bedsteads, &c., while from the roots a dark transparent gum may be procured, which, when dissolved with spirits of wine, forms an excellent varnish.

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