Hungary water
English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editEllipsis of Queen of Hungary's water, possibly a calque of French Eau de la Reine de Hongrie, after its supposed origin.
Noun
editHungary water (countable and uncountable, plural Hungary waters)
- (historical) One of various early modern perfumes and elixirs made of rosemary, camomile or later lavender infused in various alcohols.
- 1697, John Vanbrugh, The Provok'd Wife, act V, line 77:
- ...Your Bottle of Hungry Water to your Lady...
- 1991 September, Stephen Fry, chapter 1, in The Liar, London: Heinemann, →ISBN, →OCLC, section I, page 7:
- Certain unscrupulous men may call upon you here in your dressing-room. They will lavish you with flowers, with compliments, with phials of Hungary water and methuselahs of the costliest champagne. You must be wary of such men, my hearts, they are not to be trusted.
Translations
editrosemary, camomile or later lavender in alcohol
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References
edit- “Hungary”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “Hungary, n.”, in OED Online , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1899.