Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 254, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 October 1919 — Name “Whisky” Derived From Celtic “Usgebeatha” [ARTICLE]

Name “Whisky” Derived From Celtic “Usgebeatha”

—The name “whisky" was probably derived from'the Celtic "usgebeatha" (water of life), which was subsequently contracted to “usquebaugh" and still later to whisky. The liquor known as usquebaugh in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was .not, however, the same character of whisky of modern times, but was a compound of plain fruit of saffron, nutmeg, sugar and other spices and flavoring matters. .