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Etymology of the word Whisky...

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Prashad 1 Jason Prashad Professor Wright WRC 1013-015 14 September 2017 Etymology of the Word: Whiskey In today’s world, we have a wide variety of ways people of all cultures and ethnicities deal with stress, party, and host social gatherings but the way most of them do so is the use of alcohol consumption. There are all different sorts of alcohol that people use, but a common one that most people have or get is whiskey. Whiskey has become so popular that in most places that one may go to, the alcohol drink is always in sight. Although whiskey has grown to become a household favorite drink, what people don’t know is that the actual word whiskey is very interesting and unique. The etymology of the word whiskey isn’t something people really think about because all everyone associates whiskey with is having a good time partying, but the word whiskey has come a long way with its meaning and it all starts where the word whiskey was born. The word whiskey is not its actual name, but instead it is the shortened form of its’ original name “Whiskeybae.” Whether or not what its actual name might be, whiskey was born from the Old English word “usquebae,” which is said to be about one thousand two hundred years ago (“Oxford English Dictionary”). With saying that, however; the Old English word of “usquebae,” is derived from two Gaelic words: uisge and beatha, that is translated to the Gaelic meaning of water and life (“Every Man Should Know: The Wonderful World of Whiskey”). The birth and the meaning of the word whiskey can be precisely pinpointed to Old English and Gaelic usage, but where the origin of the word dates back to is still uncertain. The word whiskey

Prashad 2 has traveled all over the world, including the U.S, Canada, and Japan, but the origin of the word goes back to both Ireland and Scotland. Due to the word whiskey having an origin being said to be brought out in both Ireland and Scotland, writers believe that the exact origins of whiskey remain “forgotten” (“Whiskey History: A Timeline of Whiskey”). Along with where the word whiskey was born and originated from, one thing that has changed over time is the denotation and connation that the word whisky has taken on as time has elapsed to this day and age. As the word whiskey was first being brought about and being told to humans, it was first defined in 1715 as meaning “water of life” and was used to describe spirits by the Latins before taking on a whole different definition that most people know of now. Today whiskey is defined as “an alcoholic liquor distilled from a fermented mash of grain, as barley, rye, or corn, and usually containing 43 to 50 percent of alcohol” (“Online Etymology Dictionary”). Due to distilling techniques being brought to Ireland and Scotland between 1100 and 1300 A.D. by monks and the use of barley being distilled to liquor by them, the definition of the word whisky took a huge shift from what it was first defined as in the past. Another way the word whiskey has changed over time is the shift from having a positive connation to a more negative connotation. The word whiskey early on was referred to as being a purifier or medicine that helped heal people when in times of distress and pain, but because of the new ways that people in Europe started using different grains to make alcohol, the word whiskey slowly became a word with a negative connation. Today, people associate the word whisky with being inebriated or impaired with the use of alcohol and can be seen through the “College life” where teens and young adults now use whiskey as a way to have a “good time” at various events. A lot of words today when looking back to when they were born, still have a lot in common, but with the word whiskey, there are numerous ways in which this word is different

Prashad 3 from when it was born. When it was born, the word whiskey was originally used as a medicine for internal anesthetic use and as an external antibiotic (“The History and Origins of Whiskey and Bourbon”). Then a little while later when Ireland and Scotland realized that they could distill barely beer into liquor, whiskey became a well-rounded alcohol to new countries, such as the United States, because these new places started “copying” the Irish and Scottish by distilling other materials to make their own type of whiskey. Whiskey then became such a popular alcohol drink that during the American Revolutionary War, it was used as a currency in response to a federal excise tax imposed on whiskey by Alexander Hamilton (“The History and Origins of Whiskey and Bourbon”). Although those may be some ways in which the word whiskey is different from when it was born, the biggest difference today is that there are multiple types of whiskey being made everywhere around the world in every which way possible through the form of alcohol, such as Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey. Another big difference today that is not noticed by many people is that the word whiskey can be spelled as “whiskey” or “whisky” depending on where you go in the world (“Travel- A guide to the lingo and history of whiskey”). The word whiskey has gone through so much since the day it was put on this earth. From when it was born to what the word whiskey has become, the amount of change and transformation that the word whiskey has gone through is extraordinary and is something you don’t see happen to the majority of words. Although today people may have a negative view on the word whiskey because of the way it is used and said around, within the next few years or in the mere future, the word whiskey will once again become a positive word. Instead of associating whiskey with alcohol, it will be used, just as it was before distilling became a thing everywhere in the world, as medicine to help the people everywhere around us once again. The word whiskey is significant in our world today because it is a word that all different countries,

Prashad 4 cultures, and races interpret differently and some certain places have built an identity around whiskey, so much so that this word will never die but instead continue to evolve and change in its meaning.

Prashad 5 Works Cited Bottleneck. “Whiskey History: A Timeline of Whiskey.” The Bottleneck Blog, 6 June 2017, www.bottleneckmgmt.com/blog/whiskey-history-timeline/. Accessed 13 Sept. 2017. “Discover the story of English More than 600,000 words, over a thousand years.” Home: Oxford English Dictionary, www.oed.com/view/Entry/228521?rskey=hIJgYz&result=2&isAdvanced=false#eid. Accessed 13 Sept. 2017. “Every Man Should Know: The Wonderful World of Whiskey.” Of Iron & Oak, ofironandoak.com/2013/01/every-man-should-know-the-wonderful-world-of-whiskey/. Accessed 12 Sept. 2017. Fillipone, Peggy Trowbridge. “The History and Origins of Whiskey and Bourbon.” The Spruce, Peggy Trowbridge Fillipone, www.thespruce.com/history-of-whisky-1807685. Accessed 12 Sept. 2017. Sood, Suemedha. “Travel - A guide to the lingo and history of whiskey.” BBC, BBC, 18 Mar. 2011, www.bbc.com/travel/story/20110318-travelwise-a-guide-to-the-lingo-and-historyof-whiskey. Accessed 12 Sept. 2017. “The origin of whisky. - Scotland Discussion Forum.” Scotland.com - Scotland Channel, www.scotland.com/forums/history/26833-origin-whisky.html. Accessed 13 Sept. 2017. Whiskey | Origin and history of whiskey by Online Etymology Dictionary, www.etymonline.com/index.php? allowed_in_frame=0&search=whiskey....