liquor

See also: liqueur

English

Alternative forms

• liquour (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English licour, from Anglo-Norman licour, from Latin liquor (“fluidity, liquidness, a fluid, a liquid”), from liquere (“to be fluid or liquid”); see liquid. Doublet of liqueur.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈlɪk.ə(ɹ)/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈlɪk.ɚ/
• Homophone: licker

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

Noun

liquor (countable and uncountable, plural liquors)

1. (obsolete) A liquid, a fluid.
   • 1665, Robert Hooke, Micrographia:

     Thus Water also, or any other Liquor, included in a convenient vessel, by being warmed, manifestly expands it self with a very great violence […]

2. (obsolete) A drinkable liquid.
3. A liquid obtained by cooking meat or vegetables (or both).
4. (Britain, cooking) A parsley sauce commonly served with traditional pies and mash.
5. (chiefly US) Strong alcoholic drink derived from fermentation and distillation; more broadly, any alcoholic drink.
6. In process industry, a liquid in which a desired reaction takes place, e.g. pulping liquor is a mixture of chemicals and water which breaks wood into its components, thus facilitating the extraction of cellulose.
7. A liquid in which something has been steeped.

Synonyms

• (strong alcoholic drink): spirits (British and Australasian English)
• (liquid obtained by cooking food): stock, pot liquor (American English), broth, bouillon

Derived terms

Terms derived from liquor (noun)

• hold one's liquor
• Labarraque's liquor

• liquor lounge

• liquor store

Related terms

Terms etymologically related to liquor

• liqueur
• liquid
• liquidate

• liquidation
• liquidator

• liquidity
• liquidizer

Translations

liquid obtained by cooking meat and/or vegetables

• Bulgarian: бульон m (buljon)
• Finnish: liemi (fi)
• Irish: licéar m

• Spanish: jugo (es) m
• Welsh: gwlych m

strong alcoholic drink derived from fermentation and distillation

• Arabic: اَلْكُحُول‎ m (al-kuḥūl)
• Belarusian: алкаго́льны напо́й m (alkahólʹny napój), алкаго́ль m (alkahólʹ)
• Bulgarian: спиртна напитка f (spirtna napitka)
• Burmese: အရက် (my) (a.rak)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 烈酒 (lièjiǔ), 蒸餾酒 (zh), 蒸馏酒 (zh) (zhēngliújiǔ)

• Danish: likør (da) c, spiritus c
• Dutch: sterke drank m
• Esperanto: likvoro
• Finnish: viina (fi) (clear in color); väkevä alkoholijuoma, väkevä (fi) (any strong alcohol)
• French: spiritueux (fr) m
• Galician: licor m
• German: Spirituose (de) f
• Hebrew: שֵׁכָר‎ (he) m (shechár)
• Hungarian: likőr (hu)
• Hunsrik: Likoer m
• Irish: deoch mheisciúil f
• Italian: liquore (it) m
• Javanese: likir (jv)
• Khmer: ស្រា (km) (sraa), សុរា (km) (soraa)

• Korean: 술 (ko) (sul)
• Lao: ເຫລົ້າ (lao), ສຸຣາ (su rā), ສຸລາ (su lā)
• Latin: tēmētum n, ebriamen n
• Latvian: liķieris, spirts
• Lezgi: ички (ički)
• Malay: arak
• Maori: waipiro
• Norwegian: brennevin (no) n, sprit m
• Persian: عرق‎ (fa) ('araq)
• Portuguese: licor (pt) m
• Quechua: aqha
• Romanian: lichior (ro) n
• Russian: спиртно́й напи́ток m (spirtnój napítok), алкого́льный напи́ток m (alkogólʹnyj napítok), кре́пкий напи́ток m (krépkij napítok), спирт (ru) m (spirt), алкого́ль (ru) m (alkogólʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: deoch làidir f, spiorad m
• Spanish: licor (es) m
• Swedish: sprit (sv) c, likör (sv)
• Tagalog: likor
• Thai: เหล้า (th) (lâo), สุรา (th) (sù-raa)
• Ukrainian: алкого́льний напі́й m (alkohólʹnyj napíj), алкого́ль (uk) m (alkohólʹ)
• Welsh: gwirod m or f, diod gadarn f
• West Flemish: kortndrank m

liquid used in process industry to produce a desired reaction

• Esperanto: reaglikvo
• Finnish: liemi (fi)

• Spanish: licor (es) m

Verb

liquor (third-person singular simple present liquors, present participle liquoring, simple past and past participle liquored)

1. (intransitive) To drink liquor, usually to excess.
2. (transitive) To cause someone to drink liquor, usually to excess.
3. (obsolete, transitive) To grease.

   • c. 1597, William Shakespeare, “The Merry VViues of VVindsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act IV, scene v]:

     Liquor fishermen's boots.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Francis Bacon to this entry?)

Derived terms

• liquored up

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for liquor in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)

References

• liquor in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• liquor in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911.

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Latin

Etymology 1

From liqueō (“I am liquid, fluid”)

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈli.kʷor/, [ˈlʲɪ.kʷɔr]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈli.kwor/, [ˈliː.kwɔr]

Noun

liquor m (genitive liquōris); third declension

1. fluidity, liquidity
2. a liquid, fluid

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	liquor	liquōrēs
Genitive	liquōris	liquōrum
Dative	liquōrī	liquōribus
Accusative	liquōrem	liquōrēs
Ablative	liquōre	liquōribus
Vocative	liquor	liquōrēs

Related terms

→

• liquefaciō
• liquefactiō
• liquēns
• liqueō
• liquēscō

• liquidē
• liquiditās
• liquidiusculus
• liquidō
• liquidus

Descendants

• Russian: ликёр (likjór)
• Spanish: licor m
• Italian: liquore

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈliː.kʷor/, [ˈlʲiː.kʷɔr]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈli.kwor/, [ˈliː.kwɔr]

Verb

līquor (present infinitive līquī); third conjugation, deponent, no perfect or supine stem

1. (intransitive) to be fluid or liquid
2. (intransitive) to flow
3. (intransitive) to melt, dissolve

Conjugation

Conjugation of līquor (third conjugation, no supine stem, deponent, no perfect stem)
indicative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	līquor	līqueris, līquere	līquitur	līquimur	līquiminī	līquuntur
	imperfect	līquēbar	līquēbāris, līquēbāre	līquēbātur	līquēbāmur	līquēbāminī	līquēbantur
	future	līquar	līquēris, līquēre	līquētur	līquēmur	līquēminī	līquentur
subjunctive		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	līquar	līquāris, līquāre	līquātur	līquāmur	līquāminī	līquantur
	imperfect	līquerer	līquerēris, līquerēre	līquerētur	līquerēmur	līquerēminī	līquerentur
imperative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	—	līquere	—	—	līquiminī	—
	future	—	līquitor	līquitor	—	—	līquuntor
non-finite forms		active			passive
		present	perfect	future	present	perfect	future
infinitives		līquī	—	—	—	—	—
participles		līquēns	—	—	—	—	līquendus
verbal nouns		gerund				supine
		genitive	dative	accusative	ablative	accusative	ablative
		līquendī	līquendō	līquendum	līquendō	—	—

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the main entry.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈli.kʷor/, [ˈlʲɪ.kʷɔr]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈli.kwor/, [ˈliː.kwɔr]

Verb

liquor

1. first-person singular present passive indicative of liquō

References

• līquor in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• lĭquor in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• liquor in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• liquor in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• liquor in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911.