‖ lachryma Christi
(ˈlækrɪmə ˈkrɪstaɪ)
Also 7 lachrymæ Christi, and simply 9 lacrima, 8 pl. lacrimæ.
[L. = It. lagrima (or lagrime) di Cristo Christ's tear (or tears).]
A strong and sweet red wine of southern Italy.
| [1611 Coryat Crudities (1776) II. 72 Their Lagryme di Christo..so toothsome and delectable to the taste.] 1670–81 Blount, Glossogr., Lachrymæ Christi. 1731 Fielding Author's Farce ii. i, Tokay I have drank, and Lacrimæ I have drank. 1820 Blackw. Mag. VIII. 44 The Parsons should grow misty On good Lac Virginis, or Lachryma Christi. 1842 Lytton Zanoni i. iii, The old lácrima, a present from the good Cardinal. 1880 Macm. Mag. XLI. 237 The ‘red fat sweet and gratefully poignant wine’..called Lachryma Christi. |
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Substitute for def.: A white, red, or pink Italian wine, either still or sparkling, orig. made from grapes grown on the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius but now produced in other regions of Italy. (Earlier and later examples.)
| 1653 T. Urquhart tr. Rabelais's Works (1664) i. v. 29 O lachryma Christi, it is of the best grape;..O the fine white wine. 1877 E. S. Dallas Kettner's Bk. of Table 452 Some of the Italian white wines—as white Capri or white Lachryma Christi. 1959 W. James Word-bk. Wine 107 Lacryma Cristi..is grown in the Naples area..and may be red, white, or rosé; in northern Italy they make a sparkling Lacryma Cristi which is on the sweet side. 1975 P. V. Price Taste of Wine v. 68/2 The Greco grape that makes white Lacrima Christi is capable of producing wines of good acidity and more bouquet than might be expected so far south. 1980 ― Dict. Wines & Spirits 193 Lacrima (Lachryma) Christi... The wine gets its name because of a legend that Christ, looking down on the beautiful Bay of Naples, wept at the sins of the inhabitants. |