Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Cocktail |
CocktailNoun1. A short mixed drink. 2. An appetizer served as a first course at a meal. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "cocktail" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1865. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Computing | Cocktail GMD Toolbox for Compiler Construction. Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing. |
Dream Interpretation | To drink a cocktail while dreaming, denotes that you will deceive your friends as to your inclinations and enjoy the companionship of fast men and women while posing as a serious student and staid home lover. For a woman, this dream portends fast living and an ignoring of moral and set rules. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted .... |
Literature | Cocktail The New York World, 1891, tells us that this is an Aztec word, and that "the liquor was discovered by a Toltec noble, who sent it to the king by the hand of his daughter Xochitl. The king fell in love with the maiden, drank the liquor, and called them xoc-tl, a name perpetuated by the word cocktail. Cocktail is an iced drink made of spirits mixed with bitters, sugar, and some aromatic flavouring. Champagne cocktail is champagne flavoured with Angostura bitters; soda cocktail is sodawater, sugar, and bitters. "Did ye iver try a brandy cocktail, Cornel?"- Thackeray: The Newcomes, xiii. Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
A cocktail is a mixed drink, usually containing one or more distilled alcoholic beverages and perhaps non-alcoholic drinks, ice and sometimes liqueur, fruit, sauce, honey, spices etc. The cocktail became popular during the Prohibition in the United States; to mask the taste of bootlegged alcohol the bartenders at a speakeasy would mix it with other liquors and non-alcoholic drinks.
Until the 1970s, cocktails were made predominantly with gin, whiskey, or rum, and rarely with vodka. From the 1970s on, the popularity of vodka increased dramatically. By the 1980s it was the predominant base for mixed drinks. Many cocktails traditionally made with gin, such as the gimlet, may now be served by default with vodka.
Non-alcoholic carbonated beverages which are nearly exclusively used in cocktails (or in non-alcoholic soda fountain drinks, such as the egg cream) include soda water, tonic water, and seltzer. Liqueurs are also common cocktail ingredients.
History
The earliest known printed use of the word "cocktail" was in the May 13, 1806 edition of the Balance and Columbian Repository (A Hudson NY publication), where the paper provided the following answer to what a cocktail was:
The first publication of a bartenders guide which included cocktail recipes, was in 1862. In addition to listings of recipes for Punches, Sours, Slings, Cobblers, Shrubs, Toddies, Slings, Flips, and a variety of other types of mixed drinks, were 10 recipes for drinks refered to as "Cocktails". A key ingredient which differentiated "cocktails" from other drinks in this compendium, was the use of bitters as an ingredient.
- "Cocktail is a stimulating liquor composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters -- it is vulgarly called a bittered sling and is supposed to be an excellent electioneering potion, inasmuch as it renders the heart stout and bold, at the same time that it fuddles the head. It is said, also to be of great use to a Democratic candidate: because, a person having swallowed a glass of it, is ready to swallow anything else."
During [Prohibition] (1919-1933), when alcohol consumption was prohibited, cocktails were still consumed in establishments known as [speakeasy]s. Not only was the quality of the alcohol available far less then was previously used, but the skill and knowledge of the bartenders would also decline significantly during this time.
Etymology
There are several different, plausible theories as to the precise origin of the term "cocktail". Among them are:
Some say that it was customary to place a feather (presumably from a cock's tail) in the drink to serve both as decoration and as a signal to teetotalers that the beverage contained alcohol.
An alternative etymology is that the term is a corruption of coquetier, a French egg-cup which were used to serve the beverage in New Orleans in the early 19th century.
See the list of cocktails for many cocktail recipes.
A Molotov cocktail is a crude incendiary weapon.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Cocktail."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
A Rob Roy is a cocktail with a certain structural similarity to a Manhattan and also to the ubiquitous Martini.The Manhattan is made with bourbon whiskey and sweet vermouth, while the Rob Roy is made with Scotch whisky and dry (white) vermouth.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Rob Roy cocktail."
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Drunkenness | Drink; alcoholic drinks; blue ruin, grog, port wine; punch, punch bowl; cup, rosy wine, flowing bowl; drop, drop too much; dram; beer; (beverage); aguardiente; apple brandy, applejack; brandy, brandy smash; chain lightning, champagne, gin, ginsling; highball, peg, rum, rye, schnapps, sherry, sling, uisquebaugh, usquebaugh, whisky, xeres. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Cocktail |
| English words defined with "cocktail": cozy, crab cocktail ♦ desultory, devil-may-care ♦ Harvey Wallbanger ♦ informal, intimate ♦ raffish, rakish ♦ shrimp cocktail ♦ untasted, untouched. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "cocktail": cationic cocktail ♦ Downy cocktail ♦ GMD Toolbox for Compiler Construction ♦ PANTRY GOODS MAKER ♦ RAW SHELLFISH PREPARER ♦ SOUS CHEF ♦ WAITER/WAITRESS, BAR, waiter/waitress, cocktail lounge. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Cocktail" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses. Dutch (cocktail), French (cocktail, mixture), German (cocktail), Italian (cocktail), Swedish (cocktail, gimlet). |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.
| Domain | Title |
References | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Joe's, an establishment at 18th and North Dixie Highway (U.S. 1), West Palm Beach, Fla., with "no drink or cocktail over 25 cents". Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Cocktail bar in home of former president of Gillette Razor Blade Company. Miami Beach, Florida. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Stevensville Hotel, Liberty, New York. View to cocktail room. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Seven Seas Restaurant, Miami, Florida. Cocktail room. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Gil Hodges Lanes, 2231 Ralph Ave., Brooklyn. Cocktail lounge. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Top of the First, Ponce De Leon Calle, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Cocktail II. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Club 133, 133 E. 33rd St., New York. Bar and cocktail room. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | La Coquille, S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach, Florida. Cocktail room. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Shoreham Hotel. Cocktail rooms in Shoreham Hotel I. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Mayflower Hotel. Cocktail room in Mayflower Hotel I. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |
| "Cocktail 1" by Stephanie Syjuco Commentary: "Half-finished cocktail in glass." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. |
| Play | Caption | Play | Caption |
 | Converse; background noise; gathering; party; cocktail; chat; chitchat; commune; confer; discourse; exchange; gab; parley; rap; schmoose; speak; yack; talk. | | Blender; blending; blended; blends; motor; Cuisinart; whirl; whirling; chop; chopping; mix; mixing; liquefy; liquefying; daiquiri; margarita; blended drink; cocktail; pina colada. |
| Ice cube; cocktail; clinking; clink. | ||
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | When animals were given injections of a lethal cocktail containing substance P linked to the chemical saporin, this group of cells, whose sole function is to communicate pain, were killed. (references) | |
It requires a completely new approach to eating that affects a person's entire life. People with celiac disease have to be extremely careful about what they buy for lunch at school or work, eat at cocktail parties, or grab from the refrigerator for a midnight snack. (references) | ||
Minorities | Russia | On September 16, perpetrators hurled a Molotov cocktail into the Moscow headquarters of the Church of Scientology; the church had received bomb threats by telephone prior to the incident. (references) |
Russia | On April 17 in Chekhov, in the Moscow oblast, unknown perpetrators threw a Molotov cocktail through the window of the home where an evangelical Christian church meets, burning down the building. (references) | |
Travel | Mauritius | Lunches and cocktail receptions are common business functions. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Cocktail" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 99.53% of the time. "Cocktail" is used about 632 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 99.53% | 629 | 10,317 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.47% | 3 | 202,518 |
| Total | 100.00% | 632 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "cocktail": atomic cocktail ♦ Brompton cocktail ♦ Brompton's cocktail ♦ cationic cocktail ♦ cocktail bar ♦ cocktail cabinet ♦ cocktail drees ♦ cocktail dress ♦ cocktail lounge ♦ cocktail napkin ♦ cocktail party ♦ cocktail sauce ♦ cocktail shaker ♦ cocktail shaker sort ♦ cocktail swap ♦ cocktail table ♦ cocktail waiter ♦ crab cocktail ♦ downy cocktail ♦ fruit cocktail ♦ molotov cocktail ♦ prawn cocktail ♦ rum cocktail ♦ shrimp cocktail ♦ welcome cocktail. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "cocktail": cocktail-flavoured, cocktail-glass, cocktail-hour, cocktail-length, cocktail-lounge, cocktail-party. | |
Ending with "cocktail": Cosmo-cocktail. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
cocktail dress | 2,000 | cocktail sauce | 35 |
cocktail | 1,918 | cocktail bar | 34 |
shemale cocktail | 1,145 | cocktail drink recipe | 34 |
cocktail recipe | 1,000 | cocktail movie | 33 |
cocktail table | 334 | black cocktail dress | 33 |
youth cocktail | 211 | make cocktail | 33 |
cocktail shaker | 145 | glass cocktail table | 32 |
lounge cocktail | 140 | evening cocktail dress | 32 |
cocktail party | 123 | cocktail picture | 31 |
cocktail drink | 112 | vodka cocktail | 30 |
cocktail cosmopolitan | 109 | cocktail sauce recipe | 29 |
molotov cocktail | 82 | cake cocktail fruit | 29 |
shrimp cocktail | 65 | cocktail mojito | 29 |
cocktail napkin | 53 | margarita cocktail | 29 |
cocktail waitress | 46 | champagne cocktail | 27 |
cocktail summer | 46 | cocktail meatballs | 26 |
cocktail dress plus size | 45 | cocktail mexican shrimp | 26 |
cocktail attire | 44 | square cocktail table | 25 |
cocktail glasses | 41 | cocktail tom cruise | 25 |
shrimp cocktail recipe | 39 | cocktail mix | 25 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "cocktail"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | kelkie. (various references) | |
Albanian | përzierje pijesh, koktej (swizzle). (various references) | |
Arabic | سلطة فواكه, عصير طماطم, جواد غير أصيل, الكوكتيل, شراب مسكرمن خمر. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | смесица от разнородни неща, коктейл (swizzle), кон с подрязана опашка, предястие от раци, полупородист състезателен кон, плодова салата (fruit salad). (various references) | |
Catalan | combinat. (various references) | |
Chinese | 雞尾酒 , 鸡尾酒. (various references) | |
Czech | koktejl. (various references) | |
Danish | cocktailsnack (cocktail snack), cocktail-party syndrom (cocktail-party syndrome), cocktail swap (cocktail swap), cocktail på basis af vin (wine-based cocktail), velkomstdrink (welcome cocktail), velkomstcocktail (welcome cocktail), valuta-cocktail (currency cocktail), snacks (cocktail biscuits, cocktail snack), lytisk cocktail (lytic cocktail), aromatiseret perlevin af druer (aromatized semi-sparkling grape-based cocktail), aromatiseret cocktail af vinprodukter (aromatized wine-product cocktail). (various references) | |
Dutch | cocktail. (various references) | |
Esperanto | koktelo. (various references) | |
Faeroese | vínbland. (various references) | |
Farsi | مهمانی (Banquet, Dinner, Party, Reception, Regale), نوشابه ای مرکب ازچندنوشابه دیگر. (various references) | |
Finnish | cocktail-swap (cocktail swap), viinipohjainen juomasekoitus (wine-based cocktail), suolapala (cocktail snack), maustettu viinistä valmistettu juomasekoitus (aromatized wine-product cocktail), maustettu helmeilevä rypälepohjainen juomasekoitus (aromatized semi-sparkling grape-based cocktail). (various references) | |
French | cocktail (cocktail party). (various references) | |
German | cocktail. (various references) | |
Greek | κοκτέϊλ, κοκτέιλ, μίγμα ποτών ή ορεκτικών. (various references) | |
Hebrew | קוקטיל. (various references) | |
Hungarian | koktél, félvér versenyló. (various references) | |
Indonesian | minuman keras (booze, brandy, intoxicant, liquor). (various references) | |
Italian | cocktail. (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 混合酒 (blended liquor, mixed drink), カーボン紙 (black currant, cacao, cactus, Caesar, Cairo, car lease, car life, car race, car radio, carbon paper, carcase, carcass, Carlton, carmine, carport, Casio, Cassiopeia, Cassisliqueur, chaos, chiropractic, chiropractor, cocktail dress, cocktail glass, cocktail lounge, cocktail party, couch potato, counseling, counselor, count, countdown, counter, counter attack, counter display, counterblow, counter-propagation, counterpunch, counterpurchase, count-out, cowboy, cowboy hat, cowhide, curl, Curlash, curler, curling, curve, Kahn, Kaiser, Kamasutra, Kashmir, kinesics, kite, kymograph, rustle, television addict). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | こんごうしゅ (blended liquor, mixed drink, Vajrapani, Wielder of the vajra), カクテル . (various references) | |
Korean | 칵테일. (various references) | |
Manx | manglym, jinlag. (various references) | |
Papiamen | kòktel. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | ocktailcay.(various references) | |
Polish | koktajl. (various references) | |
Portuguese | coquetel (cocktail party), cavalo meio sangue, salada de frutas (fruit salad), novo-rico (mushroom, parvenu, upstart, vulgarian), aperitivo (aperitif, appetizer, appetizing, dram, nip, peg, snifter, snorter, stomachic, whet). (various references) | |
Romanian | cocteil, cal cu coadã tãiatã, parvenit (carpet knight, mushroom, nouveau riche, parvenu, squirt, upstart). (various references) | |
Russian | коктейль (highball). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | koktel (claret cup). (various references) | |
Spanish | combinado (joint). (various references) | |
Swedish | cocktail (gimlet), uppkomling (parvenu, runner up, runner-up, upstart), stubbsvansad häst, halvblod (half blood, half breed, half caste, mongrel), drink (drink, juice, pickup, screwdriver). (various references) | |
Turkish | kokteyl. (various references) | |
Ukrainian | коктейль. (various references) | |
Vietnamese | kẻ ngu dốt mà giữ địa vị cao. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "cocktail": cocktailed, cocktailing, cocktails. (additional references) | |
| |
"Cocktail" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: cockatail, cockatial, cockatil, cockatill, cocktale, coctail, coketail, cooktail. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "cocktail" (pronounced kÄ"ktā'l) |
| 4 | -k t ā' l | folktale. |
| 3 | -t ā' l | coattail, dovetail, fantail, foxtail, horsetail, telltale, ponytail, retail, whitetail. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-c-c-i-k-l-o-t" | |
-2 letters: calico, citola, coital, lactic. | |
-3 letters: acock, cacti, clack, click, cloak, clock, coact, coati, colic, lotic, octal, tical, tilak. | |
-4 letters: alit, alto, calk, calo, ciao, clit, clot, coal, coat, coca, coil, cola, colt, ikat, ilka, iota, kail, kilo, kilt, kola, lack, laic, lati, lick, loca, loci, lock, lota, loti, otic, tack, taco, tail, talc. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-c-c-i-k-l-o-t" | |
+1 letter: cockatiel, cocktails. | |
+2 letters: cockatiels, cocktailed. | |
+3 letters: cocktailing. | |
+5 letters: anticlockwise. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Crosswords 3. Usage: Commercial 4. Images: Slideshow | 5. Images: Photo Album 6. Images: Digital Art 7. Sounds 8. Quotations: Non-fiction | 9. Usage Frequency 10. Expressions 11. Expressions: Internet 12. Translations: Modern | 13. Derivations 14. Rhymes 15. Anagrams 16. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
