poteen

Where does the word "poteen" come from? It comes from Irish poitín, and was adopted directly into English (1810s).

Poteen’s story begins in Irish: poitín meant “illicit spirit.” 'little pot', for the small pot still; Irish law banned it in 1661, and legal production only returned in 1997. It reached English by 1810s as poteen. The illicit Irish spirit; Bob Quinn's film Poitín (1978) was the first feature film made entirely in Irish. Today, poteen means strong Irish spirit, traditionally distilled illegally from potatoes or grain.

1. Stage 1 · Irish · 1600s poitín "illicit spirit", 'little pot', for the small pot still; Irish law banned it in 1661, and legal production only returned in 1997.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1810s poteen "Irish moonshine", the illicit Irish spirit; Bob Quinn's film Poitín (1978) was the first feature film made entirely in Irish.