A humorous or informal term for strong alcoholic liquor, such as whiskey or rum, especially alcohol considered harsh or potent.
From 'fire' plus 'water,' a term likely emerging in the 1800s and associated with translation of Native American phrases describing alcohol's burning sensation.
The term 'firewater' originally came from a mistranslation or back-translation—it became associated with colonial trade in North America where alcohol was infamously used to take advantage of Indigenous peoples!
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