Aqua vitae
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Aqua vitae Template:IPAc-en (Latin for "water of life") or aqua vita is an archaic name for a strong aqueous solution of ethanol. These terms could also be applied to weak ethanol without rectification.[1] Usage was widespread during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, although its origin is likely much earlier. This Latin term appears in a wide array of dialectical forms throughout all lands and people conquered by ancient Rome. The term is a generic name for all types of distillates, and eventually came to refer specifically to distillates of alcoholic beverages (liquors).[2]
Aqua vitae was typically prepared by distilling wine and in English texts was also called ardent spirits, spirit of wine,[1] or spirits of wine, a name that could be applied to brandy that had been repeatedly distilled.
The term was used by the 14th-century alchemist John of Rupescissa, who believed the then newly discovered substance of ethanol to be an imperishable and life-giving "fifth essence" or quintessence, and who extensively studied its medical properties.[3]
Aqua vitae was often an etymological source of terms applied to important locally produced distilled spirits.[4] Examples include whiskey (from the Irish uisce beatha), eau de vie in France, acquavite in Italy, akvavit and Script error: No such module "Lang". in Scandinavia, okowita in Poland, оковита (okovyta) in Ukraine, акавіта (akavita) in Belarus, and яковита (yakovita) in southern Russian dialects.
See also
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References
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- ↑ a b William Campbell Ottley, A Dictionary of Chemistry, and of Mineralogy (1826) asee "Aqua Vitæ"; bsee entry "Alcohol."
- ↑ Scully, Terence (1995) The Art of Cookery in the Middle Ages, p. 159, Template:ISBN
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". pp. 69-71.
- ↑ Artemas Ward, "Aqua Vitae" The Grocer's Encyclopedia, p. 32.
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