distill
English
Alternative forms
- distil (Commonwealth)
Etymology
From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French distiller, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin distillare.
Pronunciation
Verb
distill (third-person singular simple present distills, present participle distilling, simple past and past participle distilled)
- (transitive) To subject a substance to distillation.
- (intransitive) To undergo or be produced by distillation.
- (transitive) To make by means of distillation, especially whisky.
- (transitive) To exude in small drops.
- Firs distill resin.
- (transitive) To impart in small quantities.
- (transitive) To extract the essence of; concentrate; purify.
- 1609, William Shakespeare, Sonnet 5:
- But flowers distill'd though they with winter meet,
- Leese but their show; their substance still lives sweet.
- 1914, Louis Joseph Vance, chapter I, in Nobody, New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, published 1915, →OCLC:
- Little disappointed, then, she turned attention to "Chat of the Social World," gossip which exercised potent fascination upon the girl's intelligence. She devoured with more avidity than she had her food those pretentiously phrased chronicles of the snobocracy […] distilling therefrom an acid envy that robbed her napoleon of all its savour.
- 1609, William Shakespeare, Sonnet 5:
- (intransitive) To trickle down or fall in small drops; ooze out.
- (Can we date this quote by Alexander Pope and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
- Soft showers distilled, and suns grew warm in vain.
- (Can we date this quote by Sir Walter Raleigh and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
- The Euphrates distilleth out of the mountains of Armenia.
- (Can we date this quote by Alexander Pope and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
- (intransitive) To be manifested gently or gradually.
- (intransitive) To drip or be wet with.
Derived terms
Derived terms
Translations
subject to distillation — see distil
undergo distillation — see distil
make by distillation — see distil
exude in small drops — see distil
trickle down in small drops — see distil
Categories:
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ɪl
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English terms with usage examples
- Requests for date/Alexander Pope
- Requests for date/Sir Walter Raleigh
- English ergative verbs
- en:Liquids