mezcal
|mez-cal|
🇺🇸
/mɛzˈkɑl/ or /ˈmɛz.kəl/
🇬🇧
/mɛzˈkɑːl/ or /ˈmɛz.kəl/
distilled agave spirit
Etymology
'mezcal' originates from Spanish, ultimately from the Nahuatl word 'mexcalli' (often analyzed as 'metl' + 'ixcalli'), where 'metl' meant 'agave' and 'ixcalli' meant 'cooked' or 'roasted'.
'mexcalli' (Nahuatl) was adopted into Spanish as 'mezcal' during the colonial period and then entered English unchanged as 'mezcal'.
Initially it meant 'cooked (or roasted) agave' or the product of cooked agave; over time the meaning shifted to refer primarily to the distilled spirit produced from agave.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a distilled alcoholic beverage from Mexico made from various species of agave; often has a smoky or roasted flavor because the agave hearts (piñas) are traditionally cooked in earthen pits before fermentation and distillation.
She sipped a smoky mezcal and described its complex, earthy flavor.
Synonyms
Noun 2
historically, the term referred to the cooked agave or the product obtained from roasted agave ('mexcalli' in Nahuatl) before distillation became the primary sense.
In older texts, 'mezcal' can mean the roasted agave used in making traditional beverages.
Last updated: 2025/11/14 03:07