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Hi everyone, and welcome to our new segment 【It Means What?】欢迎大家回来我们的新版块【词源考古研究所】.



In this segment, we’re going to explore the interesting origin of words and phrases. So 安澜, what is the word for today?



Well, today I've chosen one of my favorite words in English.



Let me guess, it's alcoholic.



Yes.



安澜这个酒“精”啊.



It is whiskey.



就是威士忌. Actually I'm not a whiskey drinker but I always wondered, that doesn't sound English that the word whiskey.



No, it actually comes from a Gaelic word.



Gaelic is the language from Scotland?



Gaelic is a language from northern Scotland and it's completely different to English.



So you wouldn't understand Gaelic.



I would not understand Gaelic. Actually you can watch Gaelic programs on BBC.



What's the point if you don't understand it.



Exactly, and it's just so it's very, very different from English.



这个叫苏格兰盖尔语. If you are interested, you can check it out online and see how it sounds.



Yes. So it comes from this Gaelic word which means “water of life”.



Water of life, isn't that Aqua vitae? Oh, that's Latin.



So the Gaelic is “Uisge Beatha” , so it’s Uisge and it became whiskey.



所以是苏格兰盖尔语里面的叫做 “water of life”, 生命之水.



Now the reason why they called it “water of life” is that whiskey was not actually originally a drink to be enjoyed. It was a medicine.



I thought it was just because they really loved drinking.



No, so whiskey started to be distilled in Scotland, so you distill whiskey. You don't make whiskey.



蒸馏, distill. It's like with wine, you fermented, 如果是葡萄酒水果酒它是发酵, 然后 whisky这种烈酒很多是蒸馏distilled.