cocktail — An alcoholic drink consisting of a spirit mixed with other ingredients
Part of speech: NOUN
Definition: An alcoholic drink consisting of a spirit mixed with other ingredients
Pronunciation (IPA): /ˈkɑːkteɪl/
Example Sentences
- The bartender's cocktail exploded in colors like a rainbow, but tasted like liquid regret the next morning.
- She wore an elegant cocktail dress to the corporate event.
- The medicine was a strange cocktail of herbs that smelled like my grandmother's garden after rain.
cocktail
NOUN[/ˈkɑːkteɪl/]
An alcoholic drink consisting of a spirit mixed with other ingredients
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
The term emerged in late 18th-century America, likely derived from the visual similarity between a rooster's tail feathers (which display mixed plumage) and a mixed alcoholic drink. The word reflects the drink's composition of multiple ingredients blended together, much like the varied feathers of a cock's tail.
Breakdown
cock (rooster) + tail = a mixture of multiple components. The compound noun literally describes the appearance of combined ingredients, analogous to the distinctive mixed plumage of a rooster's tail.
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“The bartender's cocktail exploded in colors like a rainbow, but tasted like liquid regret the next morning.”
“She wore an elegant cocktail dress to the corporate event.”
“The medicine was a strange cocktail of herbs that smelled like my grandmother's garden after rain.”
“The conference cocktail hour was perfect for networking with industry professionals.”
📚Related Words
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