firewater

== English == === Etymology === A calque of a Native American language term, probably Ojibwe ishkodewaaboo (“alcohol”), from ishkodew- (“fire”) + -aaboo (“liquid”, glossed in older works as “water”). A number of other Algonquian, Siouan and Athabaskan languages also refer to whiskey with compounds that mean "fire-water" (on which basis noted Algonquianist Leonard Bloomfield even reconstructed a Proto-Algonquian word for it, *eškwete·wa·po·wi, although this cannot have existed). The motivation of the name is not entirely clear: It may refer to the “burning” feeling of ingesting high-proof alcohol, or to its flammability; alternatively, it may refer to how low-quality spirits also often included ingredients such as pepper, which burned. Non-alcohol-related senses are simply fire +‎ water. === Pronunciation === === Noun === firewater (countable and uncountable, plural firewaters) (informal) High-proof alcoholic beverage, especially whiskey (especially in the context of its sale to or consumption by Native Americans). Synonyms: see Thesaurus:alcoholic beverage (especially manufacturing) Water for use in firefighting. (Can we verify(+) this sense?) High-temperature hydraulic condensate discharged from industrial boilers. (obsolete) Synonym of alkahest. ==== Translations ==== ==== See also ==== (water for use in firefighting): === Anagrams === water fire