firewater
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Etymology
A calque of a Native American language term, probably Ojibwe ishkodewaaboo (“alcohol”), from ishkodew- (“fire”) + -aaboo (“liquid”, glossed in older works as “water”). A number of other Algonquian and Siouan languages also refer to whiskey with compounds that mean "fire-water" (on which basis noted Algonquianist Leonard Bloomfield even reconstructed a Proto-Algonquian word for it, *eškwete·wa·po·wi, although this could not have existed). The motivation of the name is not entirely clear: It may refer to the “burning” feeling of ingesting high-proof alcohol. Low-quality spirits also often included ingredients such as pepper, tobacco juice, molasses, etc. Alternatively it may refer to the flammability of alcohol.
Pronunciation
Noun
firewater (countable and uncountable, plural firewaters)
- (informal) High-proof alcohol, especially whiskey (especially in the context of its sale to or consumption by Native Americans).
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:alcoholic beverage
- 1909, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “He Also Serves”, in Options:
- High Jack had been drinking too much rum ever since we landed in Boca. You know how an Indian is—the palefaces fixed his clock when they introduced him to firewater.
- High-temperature hydraulic condensate discharged from industrial boilers.
- (manufacturing) Water for use in firefighting.
Translations
high proof alcohol
high temperature hydraulic condensate
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