alcohol
Part of speech: noun
Morphological type: simple
Topics: chemistry
medicine
natural-sciences
organic-chemistry
pharmacology
physical-sciences
sciences
Etymology: Etymology tree
Akkadian 𒎎𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕 (guḫlum)bor.
Aramaic כוחלא (kuḥlā)bor.
Arabic كُحْل (kuḥl)
Andalusian Arabic اَلْكُحُول (al-kuḥūl)bor.
Medieval Latin alcoholder.
Middle English alcofol
English alcohol
First attested in the 15th century from Middle English alcofol, from Middle French alcohol or Spanish alcohol, derived from the Medieval Latin rendering alcohol transmitted in medical or alchemical literature of Arabic اَلْكُحْل (al-kuḥl, “kohl”), which in Andalusian Arabic also bore the form كُحُول (kuḥūl), قُحُول (quḥūl); bearing thus the meaning of stibnite first, then generalized in meaning to a powder obtained by triturating a material, then also to liquids obtained by boiling down, and specialized to mean spirit of wine, ethanol, in the 18th century, then the narrow chemical sense after 1850. Doublet of alcool and kohl.
Various old etymological notes.
* 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.
* Some authorities, including Rachel Hajar, suggest that the ultimate etymon was the Arabic term اَلْغَوْل (al-ḡawl, “bad effect, evil result of headache”) (as used in Qur’an verse 37:47, but this word is rather poetical and could for topical reasons not have been picked up from Arabic by Medieval writers, and aside from that the relation to stibium is well documented.
Inflected forms:
form: alcohols
pos: noun
tags: plural
Senses:
gloss: Any of a class of organic compounds (such as ethanol) containing a hydroxyl functional group (-OH).
pos: noun
tags: countable
examples: Our stomachs and livers have an enzyme known as alcohol dehydrogenase that breaks down ethanol to make it less toxic for our bodies, said Atlanta gastroenterologist Dr. Preston Stewart.
gloss: Ethanol.
pos: noun
tags: colloquial
countable
uncountable
gloss: Beverages containing ethanol, collectively.
pos: noun
tags: uncountable
examples: Risk is everywhere. From tabloid headlines insisting that coffee causes cancer (yesterday, of course, it cured it) to stern government warnings about alcohol and driving, the world is teeming with goblins.
gloss: Any very fine powder.
pos: noun
tags: countable
obsolete
uncountable
Synonyms: alcohol
Related words: alcoholic beverage
Derived words: absolute alcohol
acetic alcohol
alcohol abuse
alcohol addiction
alcoholaemia
alcoholase
alcoholate
alcohol burner
alcohol by volume
alcohol clamp
alcohol dehydrogenase
alcohol enema
alcohol flush reaction
alcohol-free
alcoholic
alcoholicity
alcoholiday
alcohol intoxication
alcoholism
alcoholization
alcoholize
alcoholless
alcoholly
alcoholmeter
alcohologist
alcohology
alcohololysis
alcoholomania
alcoholometer
alcoholometric
alcoholometry
alcoholophilia
alcohol poisoning
alcohol-related dementia
alcohol use disorder
alcohol withdrawal syndrome
alcoholy
alcoholysis
alcolock
alcopop
alcotest
alcotourism
alcotourist
alkoxyalcohol
alkyl
allyl alcohol
amino alcohol
amyl alcohol
antialcohol
azidoalcohol
benzyl alcohol
bioalcohol
butyl alcohol
cetyl alcohol
chloral
coniferyl alcohol
denatured alcohol
deoxy sugar alcohol
diesohol
epoxyalcohol
ethyl alcohol
fatty alcohol
fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
fetal alcohol syndrome
fluoroalcohol
foetal alcohol syndrome
fusel alcohol
gasahol
gasohol
grain alcohol
haloalcohol
hold one's alcohol
-holic
-holism
isoamyl alcohol
isopropyl alcohol
ketoalcohol
lauryl alcohol
low-alcohol
methal
methyl alcohol
neopentyl alcohol
neutral alcohol
no-alcohol
nonalcohol
nonalcoholic
non-alcoholic
-ol
perillyl alcohol
phenethyl alcohol
polyalcohol
polyhydric alcohol
polyvinyl alcohol
polyvinylalcohol
prealcohol
primary alcohol
propargyl alcohol
propyl alcohol
rubbing alcohol
secondary alcohol
sugar alcohol
sulfur alcohol
sulphur alcohol
tertiary alcohol
thioalcohol
unit of alcohol
vinous alcohol
wood alcohol
wood-alcohol
Translations:
lang: Afrikaans
word: alkohol
lang: Ahom
word: 𑜎𑜰𑜫
roman: l0
lang: Albanian
word: alkool
lang: Arabic
word: كُحُول
roman: kuḥūl
lang: Arabic
word: غُول
roman: ḡūl
lang: Aragonese
word: alcohol
lang: Armenian
word: ալկոհոլ
roman: alkohol
lang: Armenian
word: սպիրտ
roman: spirt
lang: Assamese
word: এলক'হল
roman: elok'hol
lang: Assamese
word: এলকোহল
roman: elkühol
lang: Asturian
word: alcohol
lang: Azerbaijani
word: alkoqol
lang: Azerbaijani
word: spirt
lang: Azerbaijani
word: alkohol
lang: Azerbaijani
word: الکل
roman: alkol
lang: Azerbaijani
word: کحول
roman: köhül
lang: South Azerbaijani
word: الکل
roman: alkol
lang: South Azerbaijani
word: کحول
roman: köhül
lang: Basque
word: alkohol
lang: Belarusian
word: алкаго́ль
roman: alkahólʹ
lang: Belarusian
word: спірт
roman: spirt
lang: Bengali
word: এলকোহল
roman: elkōhol
lang: Bengali
word: আলকোহল
roman: alkōhol
lang: Bulgarian
word: алкохо́л
roman: alkohól
lang: Burmese
word: အယ်လ်ကိုဟော
roman: ailkuihau:
lang: Catalan
word: alcohol
lang: Chechen
word: алкоголь
roman: alkogolʲ
lang: Chechen
word: спирт
roman: spirt
lang: Chinese Cantonese
word: 醇
roman: seon⁴
lang: Chinese Cantonese
word: 酒精
lang: Chinese
word: 酒精
roman: zh-min-nan
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 醇
roman: chún
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 酒精
roman: jiǔjīng
lang: Czech
word: alkohol
lang: Danish
word: alkohol
lang: Dutch
word: alcohol
lang: Esperanto
word: alkoholo
lang: Estonian
word: alkohol
lang: Fiji Hindi
word: alcohol
lang: Finnish
word: alkoholi
lang: French
word: alcool
lang: Galician
word: alcohol
lang: Galician
word: alcol
lang: Georgian
word: ალკოჰოლი
roman: alḳoholi
lang: Georgian
word: სპირტი
roman: sṗirṭi
lang: German
word: Alkohol
lang: Greek
word: οινόπνευμα
roman: oinópnevma
lang: Haitian Creole
word: alkòl
lang: Hawaiian
word: waikulu
lang: Hebrew
word: אַלְכּוֹהוֹל
roman: alkohól
lang: Hebrew
word: סְפִּירְט
roman: spirt
lang: Hindi
word: सुरासार
roman: surāsār
lang: Hindi
word: मद्यसार
roman: madyasār
lang: Hindi
word: अल्कुहुल
roman: alkuhul
lang: Hindi
word: अलकोहल
roman: alkohal
lang: Hindi
word: ऍल्कॉहॉल
roman: ĕlkŏhŏl
lang: Hungarian
word: alkohol
lang: Hungarian
word: szesz
lang: Icelandic
word: alkóhól
lang: Ido
word: alkoholo
lang: Indonesian
word: alkohol
lang: Interlingua
word: alcohol
lang: Irish
word: alcól
lang: Italian
word: alcol
lang: Italian
word: alcole
lang: Japanese
word: アルコール
roman: arukōru
lang: Kaitag
word: дечч
roman: dečč
lang: Kazakh
word: алкоголь
roman: alkogol
lang: Kazakh
word: есірткіш
roman: esırtkış
lang: Kazakh
word: спирт
roman: spirt
lang: Khmer
word: អាកុល
roman: ʼaakol
lang: Korean
word: 알코올
roman: alkool
lang: Korean
word: 알콜
roman: alkol
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: alkol
lang: Kyrgyz
word: алкоголь
roman: alkogol
lang: Kyrgyz
word: спирт
roman: spirt
lang: Kyrgyz
word: эширткич
roman: eşirtkic
lang: Lao
word: ແອັລກໍຮໍ
roman: ǣ ʼan kǭ hǭ
lang: Latin
word: alcohol
lang: Latvian
word: alkohols
lang: Latvian
word: spirts
lang: Lithuanian
word: alkoholis
lang: Lithuanian
word: spiritas
lang: Macedonian
word: алкохол
roman: alkohol
lang: Malay
word: alkohol
lang: Māori
word: waiwaihā
lang: Mongolian
word: спирт
roman: spirt
lang: Mongolian
word: ᠰᠫᠢᠷᠲ᠋
roman: spirt
lang: Nahuatl
word: techichic
lang: Navajo
word: tó łikoní
lang: Norman
word: alcool
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: alkohol
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: sprit
lang: Norwegian Nynorsk
word: alkohol
lang: Norwegian Nynorsk
word: sprit
lang: Oromo
word: alkoolii
lang: Pashto
word: الکول
roman: alkol
lang: Iranian Persian
word: اَلْکُل
roman: alkol
lang: Polish
word: alkohol
lang: Portuguese
word: álcool
lang: Punjabi
word: ਸ਼ਰਾਬ
roman: śarāb
lang: Punjabi
word: ਦਾਰੂ
roman: dārū
lang: Romanian
word: alcool
lang: Russian
word: спирт
roman: spirt
lang: Russian
word: алкого́ль
roman: alkogólʹ
lang: Scottish Gaelic
word: alcol
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: а̀лкохол
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: àlkohol
lang: Slovak
word: alkohol
lang: Slovene
word: alkohól
lang: Sotho
word: tahi
lang: Spanish
word: alcohol
lang: Swahili
word: pombe kali
lang: Swedish
word: alkohol
lang: Tagalog
word: alkohol
lang: Tajik
word: алкогол
roman: alkogol
lang: Tajik
word: спирт
roman: spirt
lang: Tatar
word: спирт
roman: spirt
lang: Thai
word: แอลกอฮอล์
roman: ɛn-gɔɔ-hɔɔ
lang: Thai
word: สุรา
roman: sù-raa
lang: Northern Thai
word: ᩋᩯᩢ᩠ᩃᨠᩬᩌᩬ
lang: Tibetan
word: ཆང་བཅུད
roman: chang bcud
lang: Turkish
word: alkol
lang: Turkish
word: sün
lang: Turkish
word: ruh
lang: Turkmen
word: alkogol
lang: Turkmen
word: spirt
lang: Ukrainian
word: алкого́ль
roman: alkohólʹ
lang: Ukrainian
word: спирт
roman: spyrt
lang: Urdu
word: اَلْکُحُل
roman: alkuhul
lang: Uyghur
word: ئالكوگول
roman: alkogol
lang: Uyghur
word: ئىسپىرت
roman: ispirt
lang: Uzbek
word: alkogol
lang: Uzbek
word: spirt
lang: Vietnamese
word: rượu
lang: Vietnamese
word: rượu cồn
lang: Volapük
word: lalkohol
lang: Welsh
word: alcohol
lang: Welsh
word: gwirf
lang: Yiddish
word: אַלקאָהאָל
roman: alkohol
lang: Yoruba
word: ọtí