drink

Forms

drink m (usually invariable, plural (dated) drinks)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from English drink (“a drink, a beverage”), the noun formed from the verb to drink.^[2][3][4][5] The English verb is of Germanic origin.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini, GRADIT and Zingarelli date the word to 1954, in the sense “alcoholic drink”.^[3][4][5] DELI's first record is in the weekly Il Mondo of 21 July 1959.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In the language of bartenders it names a mixed drink, hot or cold, with an alcoholic base, and in general use any alcoholic drink.^[5] By 1965 it also named a small party or gathering at which such drinks are served.^[2] In Italian it is usually masculine and invariable, though the English plural drinks is also used.^[6][7][1]

GRADIT lists several compounds also taken from English, such as long drink, soft drink and smart drink.^[4]

Timeline

• 1954 – Drink “alcoholic drink” is first recorded.^[3][4]
• 1959 – It appears in the weekly Il Mondo.^[2]
• 1965 – The sense “drinks party” is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A drink, especially an alcoholic one or a cocktail: Ti va un drink prima di cena?^[4][6][5]
2. An informal gathering or reception where alcoholic drinks are served: Sabato siamo invitati a un drink dai vicini.^[4][6][8]

Usage notes

It is pronounced /ˈdrink/ in Italian, and long drink /lɔnˈdrink/.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
7. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
8. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
9. ^ Canepari, Luciano, DiPI: Dizionario di pronuncia italiana, online ed., dipionline.it