Tonics

/ˈtɑn.ɪks/ noun

Definition

Drinks or medicines believed to restore health and energy, or mixers used in cocktails like gin and tonic.

Etymology

From Greek tonikos meaning 'of or for stretching,' from tonos (tension/tone). The medical sense developed in the 1800s when tonics were bottled health potions.

Kelly Says

Victorians were obsessed with tonics containing coca leaf, alcohol, and caffeine that promised to cure everything—Coca-Cola actually started as a 'brain tonic' in 1886!

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