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Origin and history of booze

booze(n.)

"alcoholic drink," by 1570s, also bouze (in poetry rhyming with carouse), also as a verb, probably a variant of Middle English bous "intoxicating drink," (mid-14c.), which is from Middle Dutch buse "drinking vessel" (also as a verb, busen "to drink heavily"), which is related to Middle High German bus (intransitive) "to swell, inflate," which is of unknown origin.

Mostly a cant word in late 18c. The noun use and the -z- spelling (1830s) might have been popularized partly by the coincidental name of mid-19c. Philadelphia distiller E.G. Booz. Johnson's dictionary has rambooze "A drink made of wine, ale, eggs and sugar in winter time; or of wine, milk, sugar and rose-water in the summer time." In New Zealand from c. World War II, a drinking binge was a boozeroo.

booze(v.)

"to drink heavily," 1768, earlier bouze (1610s), bouse (c. 1300); see booze (n.). Related: Boozed; boozer; boozing.

also from 1768

Entries linking to booze

boozy(adj.)

"inebriated, drunken, sottish," 1719 (earlier bousy, in canting slang, 1520s), from booze (n.) + -y (2). It was one of Benjamin Franklin's 225 synonyms for "drunk" published in 1722. Related: Boozily; booziness.

bouse

see booze.

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    drink
    Old English drincan "to swallow water or other fluid," also "to swallow up, engulf" (class III strong verb; past tense dranc, past participle druncen), from Proto-Germanic *drenkanan (source also of Old Saxon drinkan, Old Frisian drinka, Dutch drinken, Old High German trinkan, Ge
    fuddle
    1580s, "to get drunk" (intransitive); c. 1600, "to confuse as though with drink" (transitive), of obscure origin, perhaps from Low German fuddeln "work in a slovenly manner (as if drunk)," from fuddle "worthless cloth." The more common derivative befuddle dates only to 1873. Rela
    liquor
    c. 1200, likur "any matter in a liquid state, a liquid or fluid substance," from Old French licor "fluid, liquid; sap; oil" (12c., Modern French liqueur), from Latin liquorem (nominative liquor) "a liquid, liquor; wine; the sea," originally "liquidity, fluidity," from liquere "be
    barrelhouse
    saloon, often with an associated brothel," by 1875, American English, so called in reference to the barrels of beer or booze...
    sup
    sip, drink," Middle Low German supen, Dutch zuipen "to drink, tipple," Old High German sufan, German saufen "to drink, booze...
    prairie-oyster
    "salted and peppered raw egg, drunk in booze or vinegar," by 1878, American English, from prairie + oyster (in reference...
    hit
    To hit the bottle "drink alcohol" is from 1933 (hit the booze in the same sense is from 1889, and hit the pipe "smoke opium...
    mescal
    "plant of the genus Agave," found in deserts of Mexico and southwestern U.S., especially the American aloe, or maguey plant, 1702, from Mexican Spanish, from Nahuatl (Aztecan) mexcalli "fermented drink made from agave," from metl "agave" + ixcalli "stew." Meaning "intoxicating li
    cartel
    1550s, "a written challenge, letter of defiance," from French cartel (16c.), from Italian cartello "placard," diminutive of carta "card" (see card (n.1)). It came to mean "written agreement between states at war" (1690s), for the exchange of prisoners or some other mutual advanta
    port
    "a bay, cove, inlet, or recess of a large body of water where vessels can load and unload and find shelter from storms; a harbor, whether natural or artificial," Old English port "a port, harbor, a place where there is a constant resort of vessels for the purpose of loading and u

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