pisco

Where does the word "pisco" come from? It comes from Quechua pisqu, passing through Spanish before entering English (1900s).

Pisco’s story begins in Quechua: pisqu meant “bird.” Meant 'bird', later becoming the name of a Peruvian valley and its potter inhabitants. By 1500s-1600s, the word had taken hold in Spanish as Pisco. Became the name of the Peruvian port town where the grape brandy was shipped from. It reached English by 1900s as pisco. Borrowed into English to name the South American grape brandy. Today, pisco means a clear grape brandy produced in Peru and Chile, traditionally used in the pisco sour cocktail.

1. Stage 1 · Quechua · pre-1500s pisqu "bird", meant 'bird', later becoming the name of a Peruvian valley and its potter inhabitants.
2. Stage 2 · Spanish · 1500s-1600s Pisco "a port city in Peru; later the brandy exported from it", became the name of the Peruvian port town where the grape brandy was shipped from.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1900s pisco "a clear grape brandy distilled in Peru and Chile", borrowed into English to name the South American grape brandy.