whisky

Languages (20)

English

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Catalan • Czech • Danish • Dutch • Finnish • French • Galician • Greenlandic • Hungarian • Italian • Norman • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Polish • Portuguese • Romanian • Slovak • Spanish • Swedish

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English

Scotch whisky with a snifter

Bottles of Scotch whisky at Charlie's Tavern, New York (c. 1947)

Oak barrels waiting for processing at the Whyte & MacKay Distillery in Invergordon, Scotland.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwɪski/, /ˈʍɪski/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪski
• Hyphenation: whis‧ky

Etymology 1

Variant of usque, abbreviation of usquebaugh (compare obsolete whiskybae), from Scottish Gaelic uisge-beatha (“water of life”), calque of Medieval Latin aqua vitae. Compare akvavit, aquavit, aqua vitae, eau de vie, and water of life from the same source.

Noun

whisky (countable and uncountable, plural whiskies)

2. (Scotland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) Alternative form of whiskey, an alcoholic liquor distilled from fermented grain, usually aged in oak barrels, (particularly) Scotch; a drink of this liquor. [early 18th century]

   Synonym: (chiefly Ireland, Scotland, dated or archaic) usquebaugh

   • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter II, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

     That the young Mr. Churchills liked—but they did not like him coming round of an evening and drinking weak whisky-and-water while he held forth on railway debentures and corporation loans. Mr. Barrett, however, by fawning and flattery, seemed to be able to make not only Mrs. Churchill but everyone else do what he desired.

   • 1960 January, Iain D. O. Frew, “The Brora Colliery Tramway”, in Railway Magazine, page 56:

     Thereafter the route of the original line was followed to the harbour, beyond which an extension, a third of a mile long, led to the salt pans and a newly constructed inn, the "Stafford Arms", where Lady Stafford tried unsuccessfully to educate the locals to drink beer instead of a strong whisky.

Usage notes

• The regional spellings whisky and whiskey (from the Irish form of the same Gaelic word) are used worldwide to distinguish regional drinks, for example Scotch whisky, but Irish whiskey and bourbon whiskey.

Derived terms

• grain whisky
• hot whisky
• malt whisky
• single malt whisky
• sorghum whisky
• tim-whisky
• whisky butter
• whisky fungus
• whisky-jack, whisky jack
• whisky john, whisky-john
• whisky seat
• whisky tango foxtrot
• whiskytini

Translations

whisky — see whiskey

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

English whisk

Proto-Indo-European *-kos

Proto-Germanic *-gaz

Proto-West Germanic *-g

Old English -iġ

Middle English -y

English -y

English whisky

From whisk + -y.

Noun

whisky (plural whiskies)

1. (historical) Alternative form of whiskey (“a light gig or carriage”).
   • 1768, Ignatius Sancho, letter to Mr. M—, in Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho, London: J. Nichols, 3rd edition, 1784, pp. 7-8,^[1]

     Look into old age, you will see avarice joined to poverty—letchery, gout, impotency, like three monkeys, or London bucks, in a one-horse whisky, driving to the Devil.

   • 1797, Charlotte Lennox, chapter 4, in The History of Sir George Warrington‎^[2], volume 1, London: J. Bell, page 46:

     At the appointed time Mr. Kettering’s one-horse chaise, or rather whisky, drove up to the door; for, as it was principally intended for him to visit his patients, when disinclined to mount his horse, it was built in the lightest manner, and without a head, that it might move with the greater expedition.

Derived terms

• tim-whisky

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from English whisky.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central, Valencia, Northwestern) [ˈwis.ki]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Noun

whisky m (plural whiskys or whiskies)

1. whisky, whiskey

Czech

Alternative forms

• viska (colloquial)

Etymology

Borrowed from English whisky.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈvɪskɪ]
• Rhymes: -ɪskɪ
• Hyphenation: whi‧s‧ky

Noun

whisky f (indeclinable)

1. whisky, whiskey

Further reading

• “whisky”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “whisky”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “whisky”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2026

Danish

Noun

whisky c (singular definite whiskyen, plural indefinite whiskyer)

1. whiskey

Declension

Declension of whisky

common gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	whisky	whiskyen	whiskyer	whiskyerne
genitive	whiskys	whiskyens	whiskyers	whiskyernes

See also: Whisky and Whiskey

Dutch

Etymology

From English whisky.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʋɪski/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: whis‧ky

Noun

whisky m (plural whisky's, diminutive whisky'tje n)

1. (a glass of) whisky, whiskey

Finnish

Etymology

< English whiskey

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʋiski/, [ˈʋis̠k̟i]
• IPA^(key): /ˈwiski/, [ˈwis̠k̟i]
• Rhymes: -iski

Noun

whisky

1. alternative form of viski (“whiskey”)
2. alternative form of wiski (“Finnish spelling alphabet for "W"”)

Declension

Inflection of whisky (Kotus type 1/valo, no gradation)
nominative		whisky	whiskyt
genitive		whiskyn	whiskyjen
partitive		whiskyä	whiskyjä
illative		whiskyyn	whiskyihin
		singular	plural
nominative		whisky	whiskyt
accusative	nom.	whisky	whiskyt
	gen.	whiskyn
genitive		whiskyn	whiskyjen
partitive		whiskyä	whiskyjä
inessive		whiskyssä	whiskyissä
elative		whiskystä	whiskyistä
illative		whiskyyn	whiskyihin
adessive		whiskyllä	whiskyillä
ablative		whiskyltä	whiskyiltä
allative		whiskylle	whiskyille
essive		whiskynä	whiskyinä
translative		whiskyksi	whiskyiksi
abessive		whiskyttä	whiskyittä
instructive		—	whiskyin
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of whisky (Kotus type 1/valo, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative whiskyni whiskyni accusative nom. whiskyni whiskyni gen. whiskyni genitive whiskyni whiskyjeni partitive whiskyäni whiskyjäni inessive whiskyssäni whiskyissäni elative whiskystäni whiskyistäni illative whiskyyni whiskyihini adessive whiskylläni whiskyilläni ablative whiskyltäni whiskyiltäni allative whiskylleni whiskyilleni essive whiskynäni whiskyinäni translative whiskykseni whiskyikseni abessive whiskyttäni whiskyittäni instructive — — comitative — whiskyineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative whiskysi whiskysi accusative nom. whiskysi whiskysi gen. whiskysi genitive whiskysi whiskyjesi partitive whiskyäsi whiskyjäsi inessive whiskyssäsi whiskyissäsi elative whiskystäsi whiskyistäsi illative whiskyysi whiskyihisi adessive whiskylläsi whiskyilläsi ablative whiskyltäsi whiskyiltäsi allative whiskyllesi whiskyillesi essive whiskynäsi whiskyinäsi translative whiskyksesi whiskyiksesi abessive whiskyttäsi whiskyittäsi instructive — — comitative — whiskyinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative whiskymme whiskymme accusative nom. whiskymme whiskymme gen. whiskymme genitive whiskymme whiskyjemme partitive whiskyämme whiskyjämme inessive whiskyssämme whiskyissämme elative whiskystämme whiskyistämme illative whiskyymme whiskyihimme adessive whiskyllämme whiskyillämme ablative whiskyltämme whiskyiltämme allative whiskyllemme whiskyillemme essive whiskynämme whiskyinämme translative whiskyksemme whiskyiksemme abessive whiskyttämme whiskyittämme instructive — — comitative — whiskyinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative whiskynne whiskynne accusative nom. whiskynne whiskynne gen. whiskynne genitive whiskynne whiskyjenne partitive whiskyänne whiskyjänne inessive whiskyssänne whiskyissänne elative whiskystänne whiskyistänne illative whiskyynne whiskyihinne adessive whiskyllänne whiskyillänne ablative whiskyltänne whiskyiltänne allative whiskyllenne whiskyillenne essive whiskynänne whiskyinänne translative whiskyksenne whiskyiksenne abessive whiskyttänne whiskyittänne instructive — — comitative — whiskyinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative whiskynsä whiskynsä accusative nom. whiskynsä whiskynsä gen. whiskynsä genitive whiskynsä whiskyjensä partitive whiskyään whiskyänsä whiskyjään whiskyjänsä inessive whiskyssään whiskyssänsä whiskyissään whiskyissänsä elative whiskystään whiskystänsä whiskyistään whiskyistänsä illative whiskyynsä whiskyihinsä adessive whiskyllään whiskyllänsä whiskyillään whiskyillänsä ablative whiskyltään whiskyltänsä whiskyiltään whiskyiltänsä allative whiskylleen whiskyllensä whiskyilleen whiskyillensä essive whiskynään whiskynänsä whiskyinään whiskyinänsä translative whiskykseen whiskyksensä whiskyikseen whiskyiksensä abessive whiskyttään whiskyttänsä whiskyittään whiskyittänsä instructive — — comitative — whiskyineen whiskyinensä

Further reading

• “whisky”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[3] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 14 May 2026

French

Alternative forms

• ouisqui, ouisquie, ouiski (all rare)
• whiskey

Etymology

Borrowed from English whisky.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wis.ki/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

Noun

whisky m (plural whiskies or whiskys)

1. whisky, whiskey

   Synonym: (rare) visqui

Further reading

• “whisky”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Galician

Etymology

Borrowed from English whisky.

Noun

whisky m (plural whiskys)

1. whisky, whiskey

Greenlandic

Etymology

From English whisky (probably via Danish whisky).

Noun

whisky (plural whiskyt)

1. whisky

Further reading

• whisky in Katersat

Hungarian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English whisky.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈviski] (phonetic respelling: viszki)
• Hyphenation: whis‧ky
• Rhymes: -ki

Noun

whisky (plural whiskyk)

1. whisky (USA, Ireland: whiskey)

Declension

Inflection of whisky

	singular	plural
nominative	whisky	whiskyk
accusative	whiskyt	whiskyket
dative	whiskynek	whiskyknek
instrumental	whiskyvel	whiskykkel
causal-final	whiskyért	whiskykért
translative	whiskyvé	whiskykké
terminative	whiskyig	whiskykig
essive-formal	whiskyként	whiskykként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	whiskyben	whiskykben
superessive	whiskyn	whiskyken
adessive	whiskynél	whiskyknél
illative	whiskybe	whiskykbe
sublative	whiskyre	whiskykre
allative	whiskyhez	whiskykhez
elative	whiskyből	whiskykből
delative	whiskyről	whiskykről
ablative	whiskytől	whiskyktől
non-attributive possessive – singular	whiskyé	whiskyké
non-attributive possessive – plural	whiskyéi	whiskykéi

Possessive forms of whisky

possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	whiskym	whiskyjeim (or whiskyim)
2nd person sing.	whiskyd	whiskyjeid (or whiskyid)
3rd person sing.	whiskyje	whiskyjei (or whiskyi)
1st person plural	whiskynk	whiskyjeink (or whiskyink)
2nd person plural	whiskytek	whiskyjeitek (or whiskyitek)
3rd person plural	whiskyjük	whiskyjeik (or whiskyik)

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwis.ki/, /uˈis.ki/
• Rhymes: -iski
• Hyphenation: whì‧sky

Etymology 1

Unadapted borrowing from English whisky, alternative form of usque, shortening of usquebaugh, from Irish uisce beatha (literally “water of life”) and Scottish Gaelic uisge beatha (literally “water of life”).

Noun

whisky m (invariable)

1. (countable and uncountable) whisky, whiskey

Further reading

• “whisky¹”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026

Etymology 2

Unadapted borrowing from English whisky, derived from whisk.

Noun

whisky m (invariable)

1. whisky (a kind of light carriage)

Further reading

• “whisky²”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026

Norman

Etymology

From English whisky, ultimately from Old Irish uisce.

Noun

whisky m (plural whiskys)

1. (Jersey) whisky, whiskey

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From English whisky, originally from Gaelic.

Noun

whisky m (definite singular whiskyen, indefinite plural whiskyer, definite plural whiskyene)

1. whisky

References

• “whisky” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From English whisky, originally from Gaelic.

Noun

whisky m (definite singular whiskyen, indefinite plural whiskyar, definite plural whiskyane)

1. whisky

References

• “whisky” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *wed-

Proto-Indo-European *-r̥

Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥der.

Proto-Celtic *udenskyos

Old Irish uisce

Irish uisce

Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃-

Proto-Indo-European *-wós

Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós

Proto-Celtic *biwos

Proto-Celtic *-tūts

Proto-Celtic *biwotūts

Old Irish bethu

Irish beatha

Medieval Latin aqua vītaecalq.

Irish uisce beathabor.

▲

Old Irish uisce

Scottish Gaelic uisge

▲

Old Irish bethu

Scottish Gaelic beatha

Medieval Latin aqua vītaecalq.

Scottish Gaelic uisge-beathabor.

English usquebaugh

English usque

English whiskyubor.

Polish whisky

Unadapted borrowing from English whisky.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwɘs.ki/, /ˈwis.ki/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɘski, -iski
• Syllabification: whis‧ky

Noun

whisky f (indeclinable)

1. whisky, whiskey

Further reading

• “whisky”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[4] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “whisky”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[5] (in Polish)

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English whisky.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /uˈis.ki/, (faster) /ˈwis.ki/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /uˈis.ki/, (faster) /ˈwis.ki/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /uˈiʃ.ki/, (faster) /ˈwiʃ.ki/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈwis.ki/

• Homophone: uísque (Brazil)
• Hyphenation: whis‧ky

Noun

whisky m (plural whiskies)

1. alternative form of uísque

Further reading

• “whisky”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Romanian

Alternative forms

• uischi

Etymology

Borrowed from French whisky, from English whisky.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwi.ski/, /ˈuj.ski/

Noun

whisky n (plural whisky-uri)

1. whisky, whiskey

Declension

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	whisky	whisky-ul	whisky-uri	whisky-urile
genitive-dative	whisky	whisky-ului	whisky-uri	whisky-urilor
vocative	whisky-ule		whisky-urilor

Slovak

Etymology

Borrowed from English whisky, from Scottish Gaelic uisge-beatha and Irish uisce beatha (“water of life”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /viski/, [ˈʋiski]
• Rhymes: -iski
• Hyphenation: whis‧ky

Noun

whisky f nondeclinable

1. whisky, whiskey

Derived terms

• whiskový

Further reading

• “whisky”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2026

Spanish

Alternative forms

• güisqui, wiski, whiskey, wisqui
• juisque (New Mexico)

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English whisky.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈw̝iski/ [ˈw̝is.ki]

  • Audio (Colombia):

    (file)

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡwiski/ [ˈɡwis.ki]
• Rhymes: -iski

Noun

whisky m (plural whiskys)

1. whisky (alcoholic liquor)

Derived terms

• whiskería

Interjection

whisky

1. cheese (said while being photographed)

   Synonym: (Spain) patata

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Further reading

• “whisky”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
• “whisky”, in Diccionario panhispánico de dudas [Pan-Hispanic Dictionary of Doubts] (in Spanish), 2nd edition, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española]; Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2023, →ISBN
• Seco, Manuel; Andrés, Olimpia; Ramos, Gabino (2023), “whisky”, in Diccionario del español actual [Dictionary of Current Spanish] (in Spanish), third digital edition, Fundación BBVA
• whisky on the Spanish Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^es

Swedish

Etymology

From English whisky.

Noun

whisky c

1. whisky, whiskey (alcoholic drink)

Declension

Declension of whisky

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	whisky	whiskys
	definite	whiskyn	whiskyns
plural	indefinite	—	—
	definite	—	—

Derived terms

• whiskyglas (“old fashioned glass”)
• virre (“whiskey (slang)”)