liquor

See also: liqueur

English

Alternative forms

• liquour (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English licour, from Anglo-Norman licour, from Latin liquor (“fluidity, liquidness, a fluid, a liquid”), from liquere (“to be fluid or liquid”); see liquid. Doublet of liqueur.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈlɪk.ə(ɹ)/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈlɪk.ɚ/
• (Indic) IPA^(key): /lɪk.(w)ɜʳ/
• Homophone: licker (most accents)
• Rhymes: -ɪkə(ɹ)

Noun

liquor (countable and uncountable, plural liquors)

1. (obsolete) A liquid, a fluid.
   • 1665, Robert Hooke, Micrographia:

     Thus Water also, or any other Liquor, included in a convenient vessel, by being warmed, manifestly expands it self with a very great violence […]

   • 1859, Edward Fitzgerald, The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám: The Astronomer-Poet of Persia, page 1:

     Dreaming when Dawn's Left Hand was in the Sky
     I heard a Voice within the Tavern cry,
     "Awake, my Little ones, and fill the Cup
     Before Life's Liquor in its Cup be dry."

2. (obsolete) A drinkable liquid.
3. A liquid obtained by cooking meat or vegetables (or both).

   Synonyms: stock, (American English) pot liquor, broth, bouillon

4. (UK, cooking) A parsley sauce commonly served with traditional pies and mash.
5. (chiefly US, Canada, Australia) Strong alcoholic drink derived from fermentation and distillation; more broadly, any alcoholic drink.

   Synonyms: (British and Australasian English) spirits, hard liquor, hard drink, strong drink, aqua vitae, water of life

   • 1879, Chas. McArmor, The New Handbook of Vienna […] ‎, 2nd edition, Otto Maass, page 106:

     Here the proprietor has had the good sense of holding on to the good old fashion of giving his customers their moneyworth of good wines and liquors.

6. In process industry, a liquid in which a desired reaction takes place, e.g. pulping liquor is a mixture of chemicals and water which breaks wood into its components, thus facilitating the extraction of cellulose.
7. A liquid in which something has been steeped.

Derived terms

• antiliquor
• black liquor
• call liquor
• chocolate liquor
• corn liquor
• fatliquor
• hard liquor
• hold one's liquor
• in liquor
• iron liquor
• Labarraque's liquor
• liquor amnii
• liquor commission
• liquorer
• liquor gauge
• liquorist
• liquorless
• liquor licence
• liquorlike
• liquor lounge
• liquor of flints
• liquor sanguinis
• liquor silicum
• liquor store
• liquor thief
• liquor up
• liquory
• malt liquor
• mother liquor
• red liquor
• sea liquor
• state liquor agency
• tan liquor
• tin liquor
• well liquor
• worse for liquor

Related terms

• liqueur
• liquid
• liquidate
• liquidation
• liquidator
• liquidity
• liquidizer

Translations

liquid obtained by cooking meat and/or vegetables

Bulgarian: бульо́н m (buljón) Catalan: suc (ca) m Estonian: leem Finnish: liemi (fi) Irish: licéar m Polish: bulion (pl) m Russian: бульо́н (ru) (bulʹón) Spanish: jugo (es) m Welsh: gwlych m

It has been requested that this entry be merged with spirits(+).

strong alcoholic drink derived from fermentation and distillation

Arabic: كُحُول (ar) m (kuḥūl), خَمْر (ar) (ḵamr) Belarusian: алкаго́льны напо́й m (alkahólʹny napój), алкаго́ль m (alkahólʹ) Bhojpuri: शराब (śarāb) Bulgarian: спи́ртна напи́тка f (spírtna napítka) Burmese: အရက် (my) (a.rak) Catalan: licor (ca) m Chinese: Mandarin: 烈酒 (zh) (lièjiǔ), 蒸餾酒 / 蒸馏酒 (zh) (zhēngliújiǔ) Czech: lihovina (cs) f Danish: likør (da) c, spiritus c Dutch: sterke drank m, sterkedrank (nl) m Esperanto: likvoro Estonian: viin (et) (vodka), naps (a shot of any strong alcohol) Finnish: viina (fi) (clear in color); väkevä alkoholijuoma, väkevä (fi) (any strong alcohol) French: spiritueux (fr) m Galician: licor m German: Spirituose (de) f, Lebenswasser (de) n, Branntwein (de) m (loosely) Hebrew: שֵׁכָר (he) m (shekhár) Hindi: दारू (hi) f (dārū), मदिरा (hi) f (madirā), शराब (hi) f (śarāb), नशा (hi) m (naśā) Hungarian: likőr (hu), tömény (hu), rövidital (hu) Hunsrik: Likoer m Ingrian: viina Irish: deoch mheisciúil f Italian: liquore (it) m Javanese: likir (jv) Khiamniungan Naga: thīng Khmer: ស្រា (km) (sraa), សុរា (km) (soraa) Korean: 술 (ko) (sul) Lao: ເຫລົ້າ (lao), ສຸຣາ (su rā), ສຸລາ (su lā) Latin: tēmētum n, ebriamen n, aqua vitae f (medieval) Latvian: liķieris, spirts (lv) Lezgi: ички (ički) Macedonian: жесток пијалок m (žestok pijalok) Malay: arak (ms), minuman keras (ms) Malayalam: മദ്യം (ml) (madyaṁ), കള്ള് (ml) (kaḷḷŭ), ലഹരിപാനീയം (laharipānīyaṁ) Maori: waipiro Norwegian: Bokmål: brennevin (no) n, sprit m Persian: Dari: عَرَق (araq), شَرَاب (šarāb) Iranian Persian: عَرَق (araġ), شَراب (šarâb) Polish: trunek (pl) m, akwawita (pl) f, okowita (pl) f Portuguese: licor (pt) m Quechua: aqha Romanian: lichior (ro) n Russian: спиртно́й напи́ток m (spirtnój napítok), алкого́льный напи́ток m (alkogólʹnyj napítok), кре́пкий напи́ток m (krépkij napítok), спирт (ru) m (spirt), алкого́ль (ru) m (alkogólʹ) Scottish Gaelic: deoch làidir f, spiorad m Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: жестоко пиће n Roman: žestoko piće n Slovak: liehovina f Slovene: žgana pijača f Spanish: licor (es) m Swedish: sprit (sv) c, likör (sv) Tagalog: likor Thai: เหล้า (th) (lâo), สุรา (th) (sù-raa) Ukrainian: алкого́льний напі́й m (alkohólʹnyj napíj), алкого́ль (uk) m (alkohólʹ) Urdu: مَدِرا f (madirā), شَراب (ur) f (śarāb), عَرَق m ('araq) Welsh: gwirod m or f, diod gadarn f West Flemish: kortndrank m Zhuang: laeuj

liquid used in process industry to produce a desired reaction

Esperanto: reaglikvo Finnish: liemi (fi) Spanish: licor (es) m

Verb

liquor (third-person singular simple present liquors, present participle liquoring, simple past and past participle liquored)

1. (intransitive) To drink liquor, usually to excess.
2. (transitive) To cause someone to drink liquor, usually to excess.
3. (obsolete, transitive) To grease.
   • c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene v]:

     Liquor fishermen's boots.

   • 1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “II. Century.”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:

     cart-wheels squeak not when they are liquored

Derived terms

• liquored up

Translations

to drink liquor, usually to excess

Estonian: jooma (et), purjutama

to cause someone to drink liquor, usually to excess

to grease

References

• “liquor”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “liquor”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

Latin

Etymology 1

From liqueō (“to be liquid, fluid”) +‎ -or.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈlɪ.kʷɔr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈliː.kʷor]

Noun

liquor m (genitive liquōris); third declension

1. fluidity, liquidity
2. liquid, fluid

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	liquor	liquōrēs
genitive	liquōris	liquōrum
dative	liquōrī	liquōribus
accusative	liquōrem	liquōrēs
ablative	liquōre	liquōribus
vocative	liquor	liquōrēs

Related terms

• liquefaciō
• liquefactiō
• liquēns
• liqueō
• liquēscō
• liquidē
• liquiditās
• liquidiusculus
• liquidō
• liquidus

Descendants

• Catalan: licor
• French: liqueur
• → Romanian: licoare
• Italian: liquore
• Occitan: liquor
• Russian: ликёр (likjór)
• Sicilian: licori m
• Spanish: licor m

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈliː.kʷɔr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈliː.kʷor]

Verb

līquor (present infinitive līquī); third conjugation, deponent, no perfect or supine stems

1. (intransitive) to be fluid or liquid
2. (intransitive) to flow
3. (intransitive) to melt, dissolve

Conjugation

   Conjugation of līquor (third conjugation, deponent, no perfect or supine stems)

indicative		singular						plural
		first		second		third		first		second		third
active	present	līquor		līqueris, līquere		līquitur		līquimur		līquiminī		līquuntur
	imperfect	līquēbar		līquēbāris, līquēbāre		līquēbātur		līquēbāmur		līquēbāminī		līquēbantur
	future	līquar		līquēris, līquēre		līquētur		līquēmur		līquēminī		līquentur
subjunctive		singular						plural
		first		second		third		first		second		third
active	present	līquar		līquāris, līquāre		līquātur		līquāmur		līquāminī		līquantur
	imperfect	līquerer		līquerēris, līquerēre		līquerētur		līquerēmur		līquerēminī		līquerentur
imperative		singular						plural
		first		second		third		first		second		third
active	present	—		līquere		—		—		līquiminī		—
	future	—		līquitor		līquitor		—		—		līquuntor
non-finite forms		infinitive						participle
		active			passive			active			passive
present		līquī			—			līquēns			—
future		—			—			—			līquendus
verbal nouns		gerund								supine
		genitive		dative		accusative		ablative		accusative		ablative
		līquendī		līquendō		līquendum		līquendō		—		—

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈlɪ.kʷɔr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈliː.kʷor]

Verb

liquor

1. first-person singular present passive indicative of liquō

References

• “līquor”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “lĭquor”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “liquor”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “liquor”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “liquor”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.