Sunday, March 3, 2019

Wine etymology!

I loved learning more about the etymology of wine lexicon. Some highlights:

  • Alcohol. Al-Kuhul. The Arabic phrase for metallic powder used as eye shadow.
  • Sommelier. In Middle French, this referred to the government official who ran supply transportation... and this, of course, included wine.
  • Merlot. In Gascon, a dialect of Occitan, merlau means a "little blackbird."
  • Libation: In Latin, Libationem refers to a drink offering, such as pouring wine to the gods.
A deep dive into the etymology of "wine" in particular is fascinating:
  • In Old High German, wini means friend.
  • In Proto-Indo-European, wenh means love, desire.
  • In Old Norse, vinr also means friend.
And some fun derivatives of wine:
  • Good wine needs no bush.
  • Wineberry. Wine + berry!
  • Winebibber. A habitual drinker of wine.

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