usquebaugh

English

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usquebaugh

/ˈʌs.kwɪ.bɔː/ UK
/ˈʌs.kwəˌbɔ/ US
/-ˌbɑ/ US, cot caught merger
/ˈuːs.kə.bæ.hə/ Ireland
/ˈuːʃ-/ Ireland
/ˈus.kɪ.ba/ Scotland
/ˈuʃ.kɪ.bɛ/ Scotland

Where it comes from

[Alt: A glass with a round bottom which tappers to the lip, served with usquebaugh.]

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *wed-

Proto-Indo-European *-r̥

Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥der.

Proto-Celtic *udenskyos

Old Irish uisce

Irish uisce

Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃-

Proto-Indo-European *-wós

Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós

Proto-Celtic *biwos

Proto-Celtic *-tūts

Proto-Celtic *biwotūts

Old Irish bethu

Irish beatha

Medieval Latin aqua vītaecalq.

Irish uisce beathabor.

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Old Irish uisce

Scottish Gaelic uisge

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Old Irish bethu

Scottish Gaelic beatha

Medieval Latin aqua vītaecalq.

Scottish Gaelic uisge-beathabor.

English usquebaugh

Borrowed from Irish uisce beatha and Scottish Gaelic uisge beatha (“whiskey or whisky”, literally “water of life”) (a calque of Medieval Latin aqua vītae (“distilled alcohol, liquor”, literally “water of life”)), from Irish uisce, Scottish Gaelic uisge (“water”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wed- (“water”)) + Irish beatha, Scottish Gaelic beatha (“life”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- (“to live”)), Doublet of whiskey and whisky.

noun usquebaughs · uskebeaghe · usquebath · usquabae · usquebae · whiskybae

Ireland, Scotland, archaic, countable, uncountable Whiskey or whisky. [R]emember the Lo[rd] Admyrall [Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham] and the Lord Threasurer [Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset] with a couple of Pugges or some vscough baugh or some such toyes, it would shew that you do not neglect them, whoe, I protest, are to you wonderfull kynde.

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MLA

"usquebaugh." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/usquebaugh. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

usquebaugh. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/usquebaugh

Chicago

"usquebaugh." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/usquebaugh.

BibTeX

@misc{usquebaugh_2026,
  title = {usquebaugh},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/usquebaugh},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}