potation

English

Etymology

From Middle English potacion, from Old French potacion, from Latin pōtātiō.

Pronunciation

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Noun

potation (countable and uncountable, plural potations)

1. (often in the plural) The act of drinking.
   • 1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, chapter VI, in Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 90:

     […] perhaps his nocturnal potations, prevented him from recognizing accents which were tolerably familiar to him—[…]

   • 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, “The Knights of the Temple”, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume I, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849, →OCLC, page 293:

     […] a quiet evening at home, alone with a friend and a pipe or two, and a humble potation of British spirits, […]

   • 1993, Robert Norman William Blake, Baron Blake, “CHURCHILL, Randolph Frederick Edward Spencer-”, in C[hristine] S[tephanie] Nichols, editor, The Dictionary of National Biography: Missing Persons, Oxford, Oxfordshire; New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 131, column 2:

     Slim, blond, and good-looking in his youth, he became somewhat bloated in middle age, and his potations did not improve his appearance.

2. A drink, especially an alcoholic beverage.
   • 1749, Henry Fielding, “Containing five Pages of Paper”, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume II, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book IV, page 2:

     For as this is the Liquor of modern Hiſtorians, nay, perhaps their Muſe, if we may believe the Opinion of Butler, who attributes Inſpiration to Ale, it ought likewiſe to be the Potation of their Readers; ſince every Book ought to be read with the ſame Spirit, and in the ſame Manner, as it is writ.

   • 1820, [Walter Scott], chapter XV, in The Abbot. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne & Co.] for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and for Archibald Constable and Company, and John Ballantyne, […], →OCLC, pages 345–346:

     “Do Veniam,” said his Superior; and the old man seized, with a trembling hand, a beverage to which he had been long unaccustomed, drained the cup with protracted delight, as if dwelling on the flavour and perfume, and set it down with a melancholy smile and shake of the head, as if bidding adieu in future to such delicious potations.

   • 1950, Norman Lindsay, Dust or Polish?, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 71:

     Peter accepted the condition and slept off his potations and was up and briskly about his work next morning, causing Rita to reflect that such lapses were to be expected as a periodical visitation on Peter's industry, and could be counted as the cause of his derelict and vagabond existence.

   • 1997 January 12, Richard Ehrlich, “Drink: Richard Ehrlich’s beverage report”, in The Independent‎^[1], London: Independent News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 8 July 2022:

     The other potation was a juice made from grapes, pears and banana, drunk with pleasure at that greatest of rarities: a restaurant featuring healthy grub that actually tastes good.

   • 2017 July 18, Reif Larsen, “The Tate Modern and the Battle for London’s Soul”, in The New York Times‎^[2], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 18 July 2017:

     I sipped my potation in one section of the bar, only to be told that it was reserved for a corporate party.

   • 2021 July 1, Jesse Green, “Review: In ‘Enemy of the People,’ Water and Democracy Are Poisoned”, in The New York Times‎^[3], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 1 July 2021:

     Since the complex was refurbished, tourism has increased ninefold, drawing people to its pools and potations while also creating an ancillary industry of high-end hotels and candle shops.

Derived terms

• compotation
• potational

Translations

act of drinking

• Bulgarian: пиене (bg) n (piene)
• Russian: питьё (ru) n (pitʹjó)

a drink, especially an alcoholic beverage

• Bulgarian: спиртна напитка f (spirtna napitka)
• Esperanto: trinkaĵo
• Russian: вы́пивка (ru) f (výpivka), напи́ток (ru) m (napítok)

See also

• libation

Anagrams

• optation