toddy

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindi ताड़ी (tāṛī), ultimately from Dravidian.

Pronunciation

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Noun

toddy (countable and uncountable, plural toddies)

2. (dated) The sweet sap from any of several tropical trees fermented to make an alcoholic drink.
   • 1873 [1855], Samuel White Baker, Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon‎^[1], J. B. Lippincott & Co., pages 272–273:

     […] the cocoa-nut tree yields a pure draught from a dry and barren land; a cup of water to the temperate and thirsty traveler; a cup of cream from the pressed kernel; a cup of refreshing and sparkling toddy to the early riser; […]

   • 1891 August, Rudyard Kipling, “Moti Guj–Mutineer”, in Life’s Handicap: Being Stories of Mine Own People, London; New York, N.Y.: Macmillan and Co., […], published October 1891, →OCLC, page 308:

     Moti Guj was very fond of liquor—arrack for choice, though he would drink palm-tree toddy if nothing better offered.

   • 1927, F. E. Penny, chapter 4, in Pulling the Strings:

     A turban and loincloth soaked in blood had been found; also a staff. These properties were known to have belonged to a toddy drawer. He had disappeared.

3. (South India) The drink itself.

   Synonym: palm wine

4. Ellipsis of hot toddy.
   • 2020, Julian K. Jarboe, Everyone on the Moon Is Essential Personnel: Stories, Lethe Press, →ISBN, page 115:

     Yonatan brings them all dandelion toddies and places down a caddy on the center of their table crowded with bottles of hot sauce, packets of tapioca pearls, salt, utensils, and miniature divination games

Synonyms

• see also Thesaurus:alcoholic beverage

Derived terms

• toddy bird
• toddy cat
• toddy iron
• toddy ladle
• toddyman
• toddy palm
• toddy shrike
• toddy stick

Descendants

• → Finnish: toti

Translations

hot toddy

• Czech: grog (cs) m, punč (cs) m
• Dutch: grog (nl) m
• Finnish: toti (fi)
• French: grog (fr) m
• German: Grog (de) m
• Malayalam: കള്ള് (ml) (kaḷḷŭ)
• Tamil: கள் (ta) (kaḷ), ஈழம் (ta) (īḻam) (archaic)

alcoholic drink from palm — see palm wine