slivovitz

sliv·o·vitz  (slv-vts)

n.

A dry colorless plum brandy.

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[Serbo-Croatian ljivovica, from ljiva, plum; see slei- in Indo-European roots.]

Word History: Though colorless, slivovitz is a brandy or schnapps made from bluish plums. The Slavic word for plum is sliva, which is related to Latin lvidus, "bluish, bruise-colored," from which we get livid, a word synonomous with our black-and-blue when used to describe the discoloration caused by a bruise. The Indo-European root *slei-, "bluish," from which the Slavic and the Latin words are descended, has another descendant in English associated with alcohol, sloe, the name of a small sour plum of a dark purplish color. Many who have never seen this type of plum have tasted it in sloe gin, which is flavored with sloes.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

slivovitz - a colorless plum brandy popular in the Balkans brandy - distilled from wine or fermented fruit juice