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Whisky

3 stages from Medieval Latin to English.

Today it means a spirit distilled from fermented grain mash, especially from Scotland

Where does the word "whisky" come from? It comes from Medieval Latin aqua vitae, passing through Scottish Gaelic before entering English (1715).

aqua vitae→uisge beatha→whisky

Medieval Latin · 1100s

"distilled spirit"

'water of life', the alchemists' name for distilled alcohol; the medical school of Salerno produced some of the earliest clear European descriptions of distilling wine

Scottish Gaelic · 1400s

"water of life, spirit"

a word-for-word Gaelic translation of aqua vitae (Irish uisce beatha); the Scottish Exchequer Rolls of 1494 record malt sent to Friar John Cor 'wherewith to make aqua vitae'

English · 1715

"spirit distilled from grain"

borrowed as usquebaugh in the 1580s and cut down to whisky by 1715; Scotch is spelled whisky, while Irish and most American makers write whiskey

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Read the full story

Whisky’s story begins in Medieval Latin: aqua vitae meant “distilled spirit.” 'water of life', the alchemists' name for distilled alcohol; the medical school of Salerno produced some of the earliest clear European descriptions of distilling wine. By 1400s, the word had taken hold in Scottish Gaelic as uisge beatha. A word-for-word Gaelic translation of aqua vitae (Irish uisce beatha); the Scottish Exchequer Rolls of 1494 record malt sent to Friar John Cor 'wherewith to make aqua vitae'. It reached English by 1715 as whisky. Borrowed as usquebaugh in the 1580s and cut down to whisky by 1715; Scotch is spelled whisky, while Irish and most American makers write whiskey. Today, whisky means a spirit distilled from fermented grain mash, especially from Scotland.