drink English · revision 2843

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725|origins=gem-pro *drinkaną}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /drɪŋk/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The verb is [[inh|enm|drinken]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|drincan|t=to swallow liquid; to engulf]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*drinkaną|alt=*drinkanan]].^(Barnhart 1988) It is cognate with Old Frisian drinka, Old Saxon drinkan, Dutch drinken, Old High German trinkan (German trinken), Old Norse drekka and Gothic drigkan.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) The word is not found outside Germanic;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) Etymonline suggests a root meaning “to draw”, while most Indo-European words for drinking go back to [[ine-pro|*po(i)-]], as in Latin bibere.^(Etymonline) The noun is late Old English drinc, from the verb.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Old English also had drenc, the source of [[drench]].^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To swallow a liquid: Old English, about 725 in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) and the OED's first example is from about 1000.^(OED 1989) The noun, “a beverage”, is from about 888.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old English drincan also meant “to swallow up, engulf”.^(Etymonline) The figurative sense “to take in through the senses” is from the late 12th century,^(Etymonline) and “to absorb moisture”, of soil or plants, from 1530.^(OED 1989) ''Drink to'', “salute in drinking”, is by the mid-13th century,^(Etymonline) and the specific sense “to drink alcohol” is from the mid-15th century.^(Etymonline) The noun meant alcoholic drink from 1042^(OED 1989) and a single glass or draught from about 1300.^(Etymonline) ''Drink like a fish'' is from 1744 in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) though Word Origins finds it in Fletcher and Shirley's play ''The Night-Walker'' in the early 17th century.^(Cresswell 2021) ''The drink'', “the sea”, is from the mid-19th century.^(Cresswell 2021) ''To drink someone under the table'' is by 1909.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English drincan.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 888 – noun, a beverage.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1042 – alcoholic drink.^(OED 1989)

+ * late 12th century – to take in through the senses.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1300 – a draught, a portion of liquid.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1530 – to absorb moisture.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1744 – ''drink like a fish''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1909 – ''drink under the table''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To take a liquid into the mouth and [[swallow]] it.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To drink [[alcohol]], especially habitually or to excess.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To [[toast]] a person or occasion: ''drink to the bride''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To take in or [[absorb]]; to take in eagerly through the senses.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A liquid for drinking; a [[beverage]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # An amount swallowed at one time; a glass of something.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Alcoholic drink, or the habit of drinking too much of it.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(informal)'' ''the drink'': a body of water, the sea.^(MW Collegiate)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[drinkable]]

+ * [[drinker]]

+ * [[drinking]]

+ * [[outdrink]]

+ * [[overdrink]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[drunken]]

+ * [[drunk]]

+ * [[drench]]

+ * [[drunkard]]

+ * [[drown]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The past tense is ''drank'' and the past participle ''drunk'',^(SOED 2002) ''drunk'' as a past tense is now non-standard.^(SOED 2002) ''Drunk'' as an adjective comes from the past participle.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}