A strong alcoholic drink made by distilling wine, often aged in wooden barrels.
From Dutch 'brandewijn,' meaning 'burnt wine,' because the heating process (distilling) concentrates the alcohol. Dutch traders introduced it to English in the 1600s.
Brandy's name literally means 'burnt wine' in Dutch—and that's exactly what it is, with all the water driven off by heat to leave behind pure, powerful alcohol!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.