vodka English · revision 16158

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1803, Blagdon's translation of Pallas|origins=ine-pro *wed-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈvɒdkə/; /ˈvɑdkə/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|ru|водка|tr=vódka]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 2026)^(AHD 2024) a diminutive of [[m|ru|вода|tr=vodá|t=water]] with the suffix [[m|ru|-ка|tr=-ka]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Ayto 2005) so literally "little water".^(Etymonline)^(Ayto 2005) [[m|ru|вода|tr=vodá]] comes from the same Indo-European source as ''[[water]]'',^(Ayto 2005)^(Klein 1966) [[ine-pro|*wed-|t=water, wet]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ 1800 in Etymonline, in a description of 18th-century Russian life that calls it "rectified corn-spirits";^(Etymonline) 1802 in Barnhart;^(Barnhart 1988) the OED's first example is from 1803, in F. W. Blagdon's translation of Pallas's travels.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Ayto notes that calling distilled spirits "water" is the same euphemism seen in ''[[eau de vie]]'' and ''[[whisky]]''.^(Ayto 2005)^(Weekley 1921) At first it was described as a Russian spirit distilled mainly from rye, but also from barley or potatoes,^(OED 2026) and SOED notes it as made especially in Russia and Poland.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1800 – as a Russian word in English.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1803 – the spirit, in Blagdon's Pallas.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A clear [[spirit]], originally from Russia, distilled from grain such as rye or wheat, or from potatoes.^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A glass or drink of this.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[water]]

+ * [[whisky]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}