alcohol

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Middle English or Old French alcohol (modern French alcool), from {{etyl|ar} الكحل (al-kuħl, “kohl”) (by broadening). The etymology is conventionally given as الكحل (al-kuħl), dating to 1672, and has been promulgated by such authorities as Webster's Third New International Dictionary, which traces it through Middle Latin and Old Spanish. It entered English (and other European languages) by an alchemical term, by etymological broadening thence broadening to any distillates, thence narrowing to ethanol specifically.

• Bartholomew Traheron in his 1543 translation of John of Vigo introduces the word as a term used by "barbarous" (Moorish) authors for "fine powder": the barbarous auctours use alcohol, or (as I fynde it sometymes wryten) alcofoll, for moost fine poudre.
• William Johnson in his 1657 Lexicon Chymicum glosses the word as antimonium sive stibium. By extension, the word came to refer to any fluid obtained by distillation, including "alcohol of wine", the distilled essence of wine.
• Libavius in Alchymia (1594) has vini alcohol vel vinum alcalisatum.
• Johnson (1657) glosses alcohol vini as quando omnis superfluitas vini a vino separatur, ita ut accensum ardeat donec totum consumatur, nihilque fæcum aut phlegmatis in fundo remaneat.

The word's meaning became restricted to "spirit of wine" (ethanol) in the 18th century, and was again extended to the family of substances so called in modern chemistry from 1850.

According to Rachel Hajar, the classical Arabic term for alcohol is الغول (al-ġūl) or غول (ġūl), as used in Qur’an verse 37:47 (Arabic), there written غَوْلٌ and transmitted by mis-pronunciation.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA: /ˈælkəhɒl/, X-SAMPA: /"{lk@hQl/
• (UK) IPA: /ˈælkəhɔl/, X-SAMPA: /"{lk@hOl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

Noun

alcohol (countable and uncountable; plural alcohols)

An assortment of alcoholic beverages

1. (organic chemistry, countable) Any of a class of organic compounds (such as ethanol) containing a hydroxyl functional group (-OH).
2. (uncountable) An intoxicating beverage made by the fermentation of sugar or sugar-containing material.

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:alcoholic beverage

Derived terms

• -holic
• -holism
• -ol
• alcoholic
• alcoholism
• low-alcohol
• non-alcoholic
• nonalcoholic

Translations

organic chemistry sense

• Afrikaans: alkohol (af)
• Arabic: كحول (ar) (kuHuul) m
• Aragonese: alcohol (an) m
• Armenian: ալկոհոլ (hy) (alkohol), սպիրտ (hy) (spirt)
• Azeri: alkoqol (az)
• Basque: alkohol (eu)
• Bulgarian: алкохол (bg) (alkohol)
• Catalan: alcohol (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 醇 (cmn) (chún)

• Czech: alkohol (cs) m
• Danish: alkohol (da)
• Dutch: alcohol (nl) m
• Esperanto: alkoholo (eo)
• Estonian: alkohol (et)
• Fiji Hindi: alcohol
• Finnish: alkoholi (fi)
• French: alcool (fr) m
• Georgian: ალკოჰოლი (ka) (alkoholi)
• German: Alkohol (de) m
• Greek: αλκοόλη (el) (alkoóli) f
• Haitian Creole: alkòl
• Hebrew: אַלְכּוֹהוֹל (he) (alkohol) m
• Hindi: सुरासार (hi) (surāsār), मद्यसार (hi) (madyasār)
• Hungarian: alkohol (hu), szesz (hu)
• Ido: alkoholo (io)

• Indonesian: alkohol (id)
• Irish: alcól (ga) m
• Italian: alcolico (it) m
• Japanese: アルコール (ja) (arukōru)
• Jèrriais: alcool m
• Khmer: អាកុល (km)
• Korean: 알코올 (ko) (alkool), 알콜 (ko) (alkol)
• Kurdish: alkol (ku)
• Macedonian: алкохол (mk) (álkohol) m
• Malay: alkohol (ms)
• Navajo: tó łikoní
• Polish: alkohol (pl) m
• Portuguese: álcool (pt) m
• Russian: спирт (ru) (spirt) m, алкоголь (ru) (alkogól’) m
• Scottish Gaelic: alcol (gd) m
• Serbo-Croatian: alkohol (sh) m
• Slovene: alkohol (sl) m
• Sotho: tahi (st)
• Spanish: alcohol (es) m
• Swahili: pombe kali (sw)
• Swedish: alkohol (sv) c
• Turkish: alkol (tr)
• Vietnamese: rượu (vi)
• Volapük: lalkohol (vo)
• Welsh: alcohol (cy) m
• Yoruba: ọtí (yo)

intoxicating beverage

• Afrikaans: alkohol (af)
• Arabic: كحول (ar) (kuHuul) m
• Armenian: ալկոհոլ (hy) (alkohol), սպիրտ (hy) (spirt)
• Bulgarian: спирт (bg) (spirt), алкохол (bg) (alkohol)
• Catalan: alcohol (ca) m
• Cherokee: ᎠᎹ ᎠᏑᏴᏗ ᏫᏍᎩ (chr) (ama asuyvdi wisgi)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 酒 (cmn) (jiǔ)

• Czech: alkohol (cs) m
• Danish: alkohol (da)
• Dutch: alcohol m, alcoholische drank m, sterke drank m
• Esperanto: alkoholo (eo)
• Estonian: alkohol (et)
• Finnish: alkoholi (fi)
• French: alcool (fr) m
• Georgian: სპირტი (ka) (spirti)
• German: Alkohol (de) m; Weingeist (de) (old), Branntwein (de) (juristic)
• Greek: οινόπνευμα (el) (oinópnevma) n, αλκοόλ (el) (alkoól) n
• Hebrew: אַלְכּוֹהוֹל (he) (alkohol) m
• Hindi: शराब (hi) (śarāb) f, मदिरा (hi) (madirā)
• Hungarian: alkohol (hu), szeszes ital (hu)
• Icelandic: áfengi (is) n
• Ido: alkoholo (io)

• Indonesian: alkohol (id)
• Irish: alcól (ga) m, deoch mheisciúil (ga) f
• Italian: alcol (it) m
• Japanese: アルコール (ja) (arukōru), 酒 (ja) (さけ, sake)
• Jèrriais: alcool m
• Korean: 술 (ko) (sul), 알코올 (ko) (alkool), 알콜 (ko) (alkol)
• Lao: ເຫລົ້າ (lo) (lao)
• Macedonian: алкохол (mk) (álkohol) m, жесток пијалок (mk) (žéstok píjalok) m
• Oriya: ମଦ (or)
• Polish: alkohol (pl) m
• Portuguese: álcool (pt) m
• Russian: алкоголь (ru) (alkogól’) m, алкогольный напиток (ru) (alkogólnyj napítok) m
• Sanskrit: मद्य (sa) (madya)
• Scottish Gaelic: alcol (gd) m, deoch làidir (gd) f
• Serbo-Croatian: alkohol (sh) m
• Slovene: alkohol (sl) m
• Sotho: tahi (st)
• Spanish: alcohol (es) m
• Swedish: alkohol (sv) c, sprit (sv) c
• Turkish: alkol (tr)
• Urdu: شراب (ur) (śarāb) f, مدیرا (ur) (madirā)
• Volapük: lalkohol (vo)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Icelandic: vínandi m
• Kuna: alcohol

• Persian: الکل (alkol)
• Punjabi: ਸ਼ਰਾਬ (śarāb), ਦਾਰੂ (dārū)
• Slovak: alkohol m

References

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Asturian

Noun

alcohol m (plural alcoholes)

1. alcohol

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Catalan

Pronunciation

• (standard) IPA: /əɫkuˈoɫ/

Noun

alcohol m (plural alcohols)

1. (organic chemistry, countable) alcohol
2. (uncountable) alcohol

Related terms

• alcohòlic
• alcoholisme

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

Noun

alcohol m (plural alcoholen)

1. (organic chemistry) (countable) Alcohol
2. (uncountable) Alcohol

Related terms

• alcoholisch
• alcoholisme, alcoholist

Synonyms

• (beverage): sterke drank

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French

Noun

alcohol m (plural alcohols)

1. (rare) Alternative spelling of alcool.

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Latin

Noun

alcohol (genitive alcoholis); n, third declension

1. alcohol

Inflection

Number	Singular	Plural
nominative	alcohol	alcohola
genitive	alcoholis	alcoholum
dative	alcoholī	alcoholibus
accusative	alcohol	alcohola
ablative	alcohole	alcoholibus
vocative	alcohol	alcohola

Related terms

• alcoholicus

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Old French

Noun

alcohol m (oblique plural alcohols, nominative singular alcohols, nominative plural alcohol)

1. alcohol

This entry has fewer than three known examples of actual usage, the minimum considered necessary for clear attestation, and may not be reliable. This language is subject to a special exemption for languages with limited documentation. If you speak it, please consider editing this entry or adding citations. See also Help and the Community Portal.

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Spanish

Wikipedia ^es

Etymology

Via Andalusian Arabic from Arabic الكحل (al-kuħl, “kohl”)

Pronunciation

• IPA: /al.koˈol/, /alˈkol/

Noun

alcohol m (plural alcoholes)

1. alcohol
2. (mineralogy) galena
3. (cosmetics) kohl, stibnite