tequila

Pronunciation

• IPA: /təˈkiː.lə/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Spanish tequila from Mexican Spanish,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} named after Tequila, a town and district in Jalisco, Mexico, known for the drink.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

Earliest recorded meaning

A Mexican spirit distilled from the fermented sap of an agave (1849; 1841 as vino de Tequila).^[3][4][5][7]

Semantic evolution

An 1828 account quoted by Etymonline called the spirit of Tequila a kind of Mexican whiskey, made from a species of agave.^[4] The cocktail tequila sunrise is recorded by 1942.^[4] Random House also uses the word for the plant itself, Agave tequilana.^[6]

Timeline

• 1841 – vino de Tequila.^[4]
• 1849 – tequila.^[3][4][5][7]
• 1942 – tequila sunrise.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A strong Mexican liquor distilled from the fermented sap of an agave (Agave tequilana).
2. The agave plant from which it is made.

Word family

• tequila sunrise

Related words

• mescal
• agave
• pulque

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press