Arabic definite article
The word "alcohol" is from the Arabic "kohl" (), a powder used as an eyeliner. Al- is the Arabic definite article, equivalent to "the" in English. "Alcohol" was originally used for the very fine powder produced by the sublimation of the natural mineral stibnite to form antimony trisulfide . It was considered to be the essence or "spirit" of this mineral. It was used as an antiseptic, eyeliner, and cosmetic. The meaning of alcohol was extended to distilled substances in general, and then narrowed to ethanol, when "spirits" was a synonym for hard liquor.