▪ I. drink, v.1
(drɪŋk)
Pa. tense drank (dræŋk); pa. pple. drunk (drʌŋk). Forms: Pres. stem. 1–4 drinc-, 2– drink- (3 drinnk- Orm., dringk-, 3–4 drinch-, 3–5 dring- (he dringþ), 3–6 drynk-, 4–6 drinck-); 3–7 drinke, 4– drink. pa. tense sing. 1–3 dranc, 3– drank, 3 dronc, dranck, Orm. drannk, 3–5 drong, 4–5 dronk(e, 4–7 dranke, 6–7 drunke, 6–9 drunk; pl. 1 druncon, 2–4 drunken, (3 drunnkenn Orm., drongken), 3–4 dronke(n, 3–5 drunke; also 3– north. and 5– generally, same as sing. pa. pple. α. 1 druncen, 2– drunken, (3 Orm. drunnkenn, 3–6 dronken, 4 dronckyn; Sc. 5 drukken, 6 drokin, 7–9 druken, drucken). β. 3–7 drunke, (5 drownk, 5–6 dronke, droonke, droncke), 6– drunk; also 7–9 drank.
[Com. Teut.: OE. drincan = OS. drinkan (Du. drinken), OHG. trinkan, trinchan, mod.G. trinken, ON. drekka (Sw. dricka, Da. drikke), Goth. drigkan:—OTeut. *driŋkan, not found outside Germanic. The pa. tense had originally vowel change, drank, pl. drunken, drunk(e, but from the 13th c. in northern dial., and 15th c. generally, these were levelled under the sing. form (Caxton we, ye, thei dranke). Either through the retention of the pl. form in some southern dial., or from the pa. pple., drunk began to reappear, for sing. as well as pl., in end of 16th c., and is occasional to 19th. On the other hand, from 17th to 19th c. drank was intruded from the pa. tense into the pa. pple., prob. to avoid the inebriate associations of drunk. The full form drunken of pa. pple. has been since 17th c. mostly used as adj., exc. as a poetic archaism. Sc. and n. dial. drucken represents the ON. pa. pple. drukkinn.]
I. Transitive senses.
1. a. To take (liquid) into the stomach; to swallow down, imbibe, quaff.
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Luke i. 15 He ne drincð win ne beor. c 1205 Lay. 5804 Ȝe scullen drinken eowre blod. a 1300 Cursor M. 6354 Suetter [water] neuer þai siþen drank. Ibid. 12679 He dranc [Trin. dronk] neuer cisar ne wine. 13.. Ibid. 17708 (Fairf.) They fille as they had dronckyn dwale. 13.. Guy Warw. (A.) 318 He no may..Rest no take slepeinge, Mete ete no drinke dringe. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. iv. vii. (1495) 91 Yf bulles blode be dronken rawe. 1474 Caxton Chesse iii. i. (1883) 83 In olde tyme women dranke no wyn. 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI, 108 To tel you..what wyne was dronke in houses. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 116 Such a Cup of Wine as ye never dranke before. 1578 Lyte Dodoens i. ii. 6 Wormwood..drunken with vineger is good. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. Induct. ii. I ne're drank sacke in my life. 1732 Arbuthnot Rules of Diet 268 Common Water or Whey, drank in cool Air. 1747 Wesley Prim. Physic (1762) 86 It should be drunk with the finest Sugar. 1761 Hume Hist. Eng. II. App. iii. 521 Three hundred and sixty-five hogsheads of beer were drank at it. 1795 Southey Joan of Arc iii. 30 They..drank the running waters. 1865 Swinburne Poems & Ball., Triumph of Time 26, I trod the grapes, I have drunken the wine. 1881 Besant & Rice Chapl. Fleet I. 9 Which I have drunk with my parishioners. |
b. spec. to drink the waters:
i.e. at a spa medicinally.
| c 1681 Viscountess Campden in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 56 My sister..was troubled with malincoly, so went to drinke Astrope watter. 1713 Lond. Gaz. No. 5130/9 The Elector intends..to drink the Waters at Pirmond. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 699 Annandale..retired to Bath, and pretended to drink the waters. |
c. transf. and
fig. in general;
cf. also 3, 4.
| c 1340 [see 6]. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iii. v. 59 Drie sorrow drinkes our blood. 1610 ― Temp. v. i. 102, I drinke the air before me. 1715–20 Pope Iliad xi. 221 While his keen falchion drinks the warriors' lives. 1819 Shelley Cenci iii. ii, When the dim air Has drank this innocent flame. 1827 Pollok Course T. v. 116 Give the heart to drink..draughts of perfect sweet. 1850 B. Taylor Eldorado i. (1862) 4, I drank in the land-wind..with an enjoyment verging on intoxication. |
2. a. With
off,
out (now
dial.),
up, expressing exhaustion of the liquid; so also
to drink dry.
| 1535 Coverdale Job xl. 23 Without eny laboure might he drynke out the whole floude. 1583 Hollyband Campo di Fior 199 Drinke up all, Seeing there is but a litle left. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iv. i. 94 This distilling liquor drinke thou off. 1593 ― Rich. II, ii. ii. 146 The taske he vndertakes Is numbring sands, and drinking Oceans drie. 1648 Gage West Ind. xvii. 112 My Chocolatte, which I drunke off heartily. 1722 De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 118 We drank on, and drank the punch out. 1780 Cowper Progr. Err. 581 He that sips often, at last drinks it up. 1816 Scott Antiq. xl, ‘A' Saunders's gin..was drucken out at the burial o' Steenie.’ |
b. transf. and
fig.| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iii. 986 (1035) Pete..goodli drinkyþ vp al his distresse. 1644 Cromwell Let. Col. Walton 5 July in Carlyle, Let this drink up your sorrow. 1827 Pollok Course T. iii. 314 Consumption..drank her marrow up. |
3. transf. Of porous substances, plants, etc. To absorb (moisture); to suck. Often with
up or
in.
| 1530 Palsgr. 529/2, I drinke, as the yerthe dothe water, or as blottyng paper dothe ynke. 1561 Hollybush Hom. Apoth. 7 a, If the Aqua vite is dronke in of the herbes. 1630 R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. 82 Like barren ground, drinking up the raine. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 46 Let the purple Vi'lets drink the Stream. 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §190 Plaster of Paris..would then drink up linseed oil plentifully. 1858 Drayson Sport. S. Africa 238 The soil that had drunk the blood of his warriors. |
4. fig. esp., with
in: To take into the mind,
esp. by the eyes or ears, with the eager delight of one who satisfies physical thirst; to listen to, gaze upon, or contemplate with rapture.
| 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. ii. ii. 58 My eares haue yet not drunke a hundred words Of thy tongues vttering. 1635–56 Cowley Davideis i. 386 They sing..And with fix'd eyes drink in immortal rays. a 1713 T. Ellwood Autobiog. (1714) 18, I drank in his Words with Desire. 1859 Jephson Brittany vii. 96, I stopped for a while to drink in the beauty of the scene. 1878 Browning La Saisiaz 11 Your level path that let me drink the morning deep and slow. |
† 5. To draw in or inhale (tobacco smoke, etc.); to smoke.
Obs.| 1598 B. Jonson Ev. Man in Hum. iii. ii, The most divine tobacco that ever I drunk. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage ix. i. 820 Their Lords and Priests consult of warres, after they have drunke the smoke of a certain herbe. 1654 E. Johnson Wond. wrkg. Provid. 97 He was drinking a pipe of Tobacco. 1781 Pennant Tour Wales II. 28 The first who smoked, or, (as they called it) drank tobacco publickly in London. [1855 Spencer Turkey, Russia, &c. xix. 278 According to the idiom of their language, they [Tatars] do not smoke the fragrant herb, but drink it.] |
6. To swallow down the contents of (a cup or vessel). Also with
off,
up, indicating completeness, and
fig. to drink the cup, or chalice, of joy, sorrow, suffering, etc.: see
cup n. 9,
chalice 1 b.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 15681 (Cott.), I wat wel þat i sal it drinc þis calice [Gött. drinck; Fairf. drink. c 1340 Trin. drynke þis deþ]. 1382 Wyclif 1 Cor. xi. 26 How ofte euere ȝe schulen..drynke the cuppe, ȝe schulen schewe the deeth of the Lord. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 97 Put off his Turbant, and drunke the cup off. 1750 Johnson Rambler No. 49 ¶10 He had..drank many a flaggon. 1816 J. Wilson City of Plague iii. ii, I drank the cup of joy. |
7. To swallow down (something solid) in a liquid.
to drink candle-ends: see
candle-end 1 b.
| 1632 Lithgow Trav. vi. 278 A little of it [earth] drunke in any Liquor. 1768–74 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1852) II. 35 A wasp..may fall in [a pot] to be drank by one, whom he shall sting to death. |
8. To consume or spend in drinking (money, etc.). Also with
away,
up.
| 1492 in Burgh Rec. Edin. I. 62 (Jam. Supp.) He sall pay for ilk defalt vj [pennies?]..to be drukken be the dusane. 1509 Barclay Shyp of Folys (1874) I. 305 If another gyue them ought of pyte, At the next alestake dronken shall it be. 1604 E. Grimstone Hist. Siege Ostend 220 Spignola bestowed of them..forty thousand gilders to drinke. 1701 Defoe Trueborn Eng. ii. 31 Drink their Estates away, and Senses too. 1765 Foote Commissary i. Wks. 1799 II. 8, I hope you'll tip me the tester to drink. 1884 ‘Mark Twain’ Huck. Finn xliii. 437 It's likely pap's..got it [sc. money] all away from Judge Thatcher and drunk it up. a 1897 Mod. He drinks his whole earnings. 1964 Penguin Bk. Austral. Ballads 123 Between them they drank every cent. |
9. colloq. To provide with drink.
| 1883 E. F. Knight Cruise ‘Falcon’ (1887) 85 He could not feed us, only lodge and drink us. |
II. Absolute and intransitive senses.
10. absol. a. To swallow down or imbibe water or other liquid, for nourishment or quenching of thirst. Const.
† in,
from,
out of (the vessel).
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Luke xiii. 26 We æton & druncon beforan þe. a 1225 Ancr. R. 44 Bitweone mete, hwo se drinken wule, sigge benedicite. a 1300 Cursor M. 3551 He ete and dranc [Trin. dronke] and went his wai. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 130 And eton and drongon and made hem blythe. c 1489 Caxton Blanchardyn viii. 31 The kynge of Fryse had nothre eten nor dronken. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. iv. 169, I am a Rogue if I drunke to day. 1602 Narcissus (1893) 248 They can but bringe horse to the water brinke, But horse may choose whether that horse will drinke. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 67 The Wine bottles and flat cups we drunke in, were of pure Gold. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 93 Such little Glasses as we drink out of. 1780 Cowper Progr. Err. 466 Thou fountain at which drink the good and wise. 1876 Ruskin Fors Clav. VI. lxvii. 214 Having sufficiently eaten and drunken. |
b. to drink deep: to take a large draught, either once or habitually; see also 10 c, 11.
| a 1300 Sat. People Kildare xx. in E.E.P. (1862) 156 Men..þat..drinkiþ dep and makiþ glade. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. x. 145 Eremytes, That..drynke drue and deepe. 1709 Pope Ess. Crit. 218 Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring. 1820 Scott Ivanhoe v, ‘Pledge me, my guests.’ He drank deep, and went on. |
c. Const.
of (rarely
† upon) the liquid or source of supply.
lit. and
fig. to drink of the cup of sorrow, etc.: see
cup n. 9.
| c 1000 ælfric Gen. ix. 21 Þa he dranc of ðam wine, ða wearþ he druncen. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 111 He dranc of deðes flode. c 1340 Cursor M. 15241 (Trin.) Drinkeþ [Cott. drinckes] alle of þis he seide. 1490 Caxton Eneydos 4, I suppose he hath dronken of Elycons well. 1549 Order of Communion, Exhortation 3 To give us his said body and blood..to feed and drink upon. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 584 Lethe..whereof who drinks, Forthwith his former state and being forgets. 1751 Chatham Lett. Nephew ii. 7 Drink as deep as you can of these divine springs. 1884 Tennyson Becket i. iv. 75 Ye have eaten of my dish and drunken of my cup for a dozen years. |
d. Proverb.
one must drink as one brews.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 2848 (Gött.) Suilk as þai breu nou haue þai drunke [Cott. dronken]. c 1460 Towneley Myst. (Surtees) 111 Bot we must drynk as we brew, And that is bot reson. c 1560 A. Scott Poems xx. 64 Ȝit man thou stand content And drynk þat thou hes brewit. a 1610 Healey Cebes (1636) 114 She drinketh of her owne brewing. 1647 Trapp Comm. Rev. xiii. 10 Antichrist shall one day..drink as he brewed, be paid in his own coin. [See also brew v. 1 d]. |
e. to drink up, to finish one's drink. (
Cf. sense 2.)
| 1919 C. Mackenzie Early Life Sylvia Scarlett i. v. 158 Drink up and have another. 1927 Hemingway Fiesta xiii. 150 Drink up, Harris. 1938 G. Greene Brighton Rock vii. ix. 347 Drink up. We'd better get on with the good work. 1949 ‘N. Blake’ Head of Traveller ii. 40 Well, drink up, Jack, and we'll make a four-hand. |
11. a. To take alcoholic or intoxicating liquor, either convivially, or to gratify appetite; to indulge therein to excess; to tipple;
spec. to be a habitual drunkard. (The sense is often indicated contextually by adverbs or phrases such as
about,
deep,
hard,
heavily,
like a fish.) Also
to drink it.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 132/1 Drynkyn a-bowte..epoto. 1474 Caxton Chesse iii. vi. (1883) 130 He dranke so moche that he was veray dronke. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxxiv. 67 The Feind me ryfe Gif I do ocht bot drynk and swyfe. 1611 Barry Ram-Alley iv. (Hazl. Dodsley), I have been drinking hard. 1638 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (ed. 2) 242 They sit long and drink soundly. 1640 Fletcher & Shirley Nightwalker iv. sig. H2v, Give me the bottle, I can drink like a Fish now, like an Elephant. 1701 Farquhar Sir H. Wildair ii. 14 Drink like a Fish, and swear like a Devil. 1732 Pope Ep. Bathurst 390 His son..Who drinks, whores, fights, and in a duel dies. 1802 C. Wilmot Let. 2 Jan. in Irish Peer (1920) 24 Not forgetting I was not at Home, and consequently drinking like a Fish. 1837 Tait's Mag. IV. 492 I'll coach it, and dine it, and drink it till morn. 1837 [see fish n.1 1 c]. 1848 Thackeray Lett. 28 July, We went to a barrack room, where we drank about. 1879 M. E. Braddon Clov. Foot vii, A woman who drank like a fish and swore like a trooper. Mod. Poor woman! her husband drinks. |
b. to drink and drive, to drive or attempt to drive a motor vehicle after taking an alcoholic drink or drinks (and while one's driving may be impaired by the after-effects of this). (Freq. as a road-safety slogan
Don't drink and drive.)
| 1944 Cases adjudicated in Supreme Court, Florida CLIV. 548 A resume of the evidence here would serve no useful purpose unless it might emphasize the tragic consequences resulting from the act of those who drink and drive. 1960 Newsweek 14 Mar. 88/3 (heading) If you drink and drive. 1976 South Notts Echo 16 Dec. 5/6, I just hope people will take notice of the warnings and do not drink and drive. 1984 Guardian 27 Dec. 2/7 The current Stay Low campaign..has been widely criticised for failing to push the traditional ‘Don't drink and drive’ message. |
12. Hence
trans. and refl., with various complements, indicating the result of drinking, as
a. refl. to drink oneself drunk,
sleepy,
tame,
to death,
into incoherence,
into spirit,
out of a situation, etc.
† b. ellipt. intr. to drink drunk (
obs.).
c. trans. to drink away one's reason,
one's property,
one's eyes out;
to drink down (
i.e. quench or destroy by drinking).
d. to drink (a person) out of or into some condition, etc.;
to drink (a person) dead drunk,
down,
to bed,
under the table: said of the more seasoned toper, who sees his comrades succumb to the effect of their potations.
† e. to drink the sun up: to carouse through the night until sunrise. Also in other analogous uses.
| a. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. i. i. 180 The Gentleman had drunke himselfe out of his fiue sentences [= senses]. 1607 Topsell Serpents (1658) 805 The Country-people set little vessels of wine..whereunto the Vipers coming, easily drink themselves tame. 1727 De Foe Syst. Magic i. iv. (1840) 95 By persuading him to drink himself drunk. 1821 Byron Juan iii. lxvi, A genius who has drunk himself to death. 1849 Fraser's Mag. XL. 384 He..drank himself diurnally into incoherence. 1879 Lond. Soc. Christm. No. 71/2 He drank himself out of one situation after another. 1883 Stevenson Treas. Isl. i. i, Till he had drunk himself sleepy. |
| b. 1474 Caxton Chesse iii. vi. (1883) 130 And not lyue to ete glotonsly & for to drynke dronke. 1600 Holland Livy xi. xiv. 1069 Kept my soldiours from drinking drunke. 1609 W. M. Man in Moone (1849) 33 Are you adicted to drink drunke? 1660 F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 403 They gourmandize, and drink drunk after their fashion. |
| c. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. i. i. 204, I hope we shall drinke downe all vnkindnesse. 1599 Massinger, etc. Old Law iii. ii, Yet you may drink your eyes out, sir. 1679 Essex's Excell. 8 They will..no more suffer themselves to be..drunk out of their reason. 1701 De Foe True-born Eng. ii. 92 Drink their Estates away, and Senses too. |
| d. 1604 Shakes. Oth. ii. iii. 84 Why, he drinkes you with facillitie, your Dane dead drunke. 1606 ― Ant. & Cl. ii. v. 21 Ere the ninth houre, I drunke him to his bed. 1609 Ev. Woman in Hum. v. i. in Bullen O. Pl. IV, He..will drink Downe a Dutchman. 1659 D. Pell Impr. Sea 437 These lads drink the Land out of quiet. a 1674 Clarendon Hist. Reb. xi. §242 One Earl, who had drank most of the rest down, and was not himself moved or alter'd. 1720 Humourist 161 Drinking a Man to Death. 1813 P. Hawker Diary I. 68 We having nearly drunk the landlord out of both his English and French wine. Mod. To drink a person under the table. |
| e. a 1704 T. Brown Praise Poverty Wks. 1730 I. 98 His best companions that have a thousand times drank up the sun with him. 1746 P. Francis tr. Horace's Sat. i. iii. 24 He drank the Night away Till rising Dawn. 1836 Dickens Sk. Boz 2nd Ser. 90 The musicians exhibit unequivocal symptoms of having drunk the new year in. |
13. to drink to (a person):
† a. To hand or present beverage for his use; to give drink to.
Obs. The cup presented was first sipped by the one who offered it, and hence
b. To salute (any one) by drinking; to invite him to drink by drinking first; to drink in his honour, wishing him health or success. Hence, in wider use, to drink in honour of (anything desired), with good wishes for its furtherance. Also
ellipt. with the person as
obj.: to pledge, toast; and in
indirect pass.| a. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1660 He..dede him eten and to him dranc. 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 289 Vorst ych wolle to þe drynke, and suþþe þou ssalt hym yse. a 1300 Cursor M. 15263 And o mi drinc þar i sal Drinc to yow for yur mede. 1470–85 Malory Arthur viii. xxiv, Thenne they lough and made good chere and eyther dranke to other frely. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. I. xv. 434 When by themselves, they drink about from one to another; but when any of us came among them, then they would always drink to one of us. |
| b. 1530 Palsgr. 529/1, I drinke to you, je boys a vous. 1605 Shakes. Macb. iii. iv. 89, I drinke to th' generall joy o' th' whole Table. 1682 Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) I. 186 The lord mayor was pleased to drink to Mr. North. 1758 Johnson Idler No. 5 ¶4 The gay drink to their success. 1787 Burke Corr. (1844) III. 56 We drank the man we were so much obliged to in a bumper. 1833 M. Scott Tom Cringle xvi. (1859) 401 Speaking when he is spoken to, drinking when he is drunken to. 1842 Tennyson Vision of Sin iv. 149 Drink we, last, the public fool. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 444 All who passed were invited to drink to the health of the new sovereign. |
c. trans. in same sense;
cf. carouse n. 2.
| 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. iv. viii. 34 We all would sup together And drinke Corowses to the next dayes Fate. 1682 Milton Hist. Mosc. Wks. 1738 II. 145 The Emperor..drank a deep Carouse to the Queen's Health. |
14. trans. to drink (a sentiment or toast): to honour it and express a desire for its accomplishment or success by drinking.
| 13.. Coer de L. 6746 To waraunt that I have i-doo, Wesseyl I schal drynk yow too. 1600 Rowlands Lett. Humours Blood vii. (1874) 13 Drinke some braue health vpon the Dutch carouse. 1710 Hearne Collect. (Oxf. Hist. Soc.) III. 35 They drunk Damnation to Dr. Sacheverell. 1742 Fielding J. Andrews (1818) 297 He was drinking her ladyship's health in a cup of..ale. 1808 J. Mayne Siller Gun iv. 145 ‘The King’, and other loyal toasts..‘Our fleets’, and ‘a' our armed hosts’; Were drank aloud. 1851 Thackeray Eng. Hum. v. 244 Drinking confusion to the Pretender. |
15. intr. To have a specified flavour when drunk. [
Fr. se boire,
refl. for
pass.]
| 1607 Heywood Wom. kilde with Kindnesse Epil., The wine..drunk too flat. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. I. xi. 314 It drinks brisk and cool. 1758 L. Temple Sketches (ed. 2) 70 The Burgundy drinks as flat as Port. 1967 C. Ray Compleat Imbiber IX. 66 A vintage which was (as the wine merchants say) ‘drinking very nicely now’. Ibid., I sipped the wine, which drank like velvet. 1969 Guardian 23 May 9/3 Every one of these wines will drink well now: most of them will improve by keeping. |
† 16. fig. To experience, endure, suffer, pay the penalty; to ‘taste the cup’ of suffering, etc. (see 6, 10 c, and
cup n. 9).
trans. and absol. Obs.| a 1340 Hampole Psalter x. 7 Ilk dampned man sall drynk of the sorow of hell. 1530 Palsgr. 556/1, I forgyve you for this tyme, but and you faute agayne you shall drinke for bothe. a 1553 Udall Royster D. i. iii. (Arb.) 20 Ye will drink without a cup. 1677 W. Hubbard Narrative ii. 35 The dammage that side of the Country hath been made to drink thereby, is not easy to recount. |
III. 17. The
vb.-stem used in
Comb. drink-(and-)drive attrib. phr., of or pertaining to (the laws relating to) drink-driving.
| 1967 Motor 18 Nov. 64/1 We have introduced two of the most controversial road safety measures... The first was the 70 m.p.h. speed limit. The second..is the new *drink and drive law. 1985 Church Times 30 Aug. 8/3 The introduction of legislation to include imprisonment, as in Sweden, for drink-and-drive offences. |
| 1968 Punch 7 Feb. 179/1 A police surgeon..says there's been a sharp rise in sexual offences since the October *drink-drive laws came in. 1973 N. Berks. Herald 28 June 9/7 Assaulting two policemen and failing to provide a specimen for a drink drive test. 1977 Belfast Tel. 22 Feb. 10/5 The..committee..urged..tougher action against..second drink-drive offenders. |
▪ II. † drink, v.2 Obs. Aphetic
f. adrink, to drown.
| c 1425 Seven Sag. (P.) 3362 Hadde I than be dronken, And in the salt flod sonkyn. c 1440 Jacob's Well (E.E.T.S.) 7 Ȝif þou fell in-to a depe pytt & schuldyst be dronchyn. 1460 J. Capgrave Chron. 107 Thei were dronchin in the depe see. Ibid. 133 Too of the Kyngis sones..and many worthi folk..were dronch in o schip. |
▪ III. drink, n. (
drɪŋk)
Forms: α. 1–4
drinc,
drync, 3–
drink, (2–4
drenc(k, 4
drenk, 3
drinck, 3–6
drynk, 5
dryng). β. 3
drinch,
Orm. drinnch. γ. 1
drinca, 3–6
drynke, 3–7
drinke, (3
dringe).
[ME. had two forms drink (drinch), and drinke, corresp. to OE. drinc, and drinca, f. drincan to drink; cf. Sw. drick, dryck, Da. drik. The normal mod. form of the n. would be southern drinch (cf. finch, drench, stench, bench, etc.), northern drink; the latter has become the standard form, prob. under the influence of the verb.] 1. a. Liquid swallowed for assuaging thirst or taken into the system for nourishment. Also
fig.| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xxv. 37 Þyrstendne & we ðe drinc sealdon. c 1220 Bestiary 206 Ðe godspel..is soule drink. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 14 Þei ȝeuen not drenk to pore þristi men. 1426 Audelay Poems 7 The thorste ȝif dryng. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. xviii. 21 They dranke none other drynke, but the water of the ryuer. 1667 Milton P.L. v. 344 For drink the Grape She crushes. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 319 The thirsty one, in that he thirsts, desires only drink. |
b. esp. as correlative to solid nourishment (
meat,
food, etc.).
meat and drink: see
meat.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. John vi. 55 Lichoma forðon min soðlice is mett & blod min soðlice is drinca [Rushw. drync, Ags. G. drinc, Hatton G. drenc]. c 1205 Lay. 3558 Bugge him..metes & drinches. a 1300 Cursor M. 11426 Þam failed neuer o drinc ne fode. 1494 Nottingham Rec. III. 282 Item Richard Litster dyner and drynk jd. ob. 1579 Fulke Heskins' Parl. 136 In the sacrament is drie and moyst nourishment, that is, bread and drinke. a 1625 Fletcher Love's Cure iii. ii, What's one man's poison..Is another's meat and drink. 1733 Cheyne Eng. Malady ii. i. §5 When the Drink is in too great a Proportion to the solid Food. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. 516 The crews had better food and drink than they had ever had before. |
c. transf. Liquid absorbed or drunk in.
| 1602 Shakes. Ham. iv. vii. 182 Til that her garments, heauy with her drinke, Pul'd the poore wretch..To muddy death. 1664 Evelyn Kal. Hort. (1729) 224 If they [plants] shrivel and fold up, give them Drink. 1791 Cowper Yardley Oak 112 The scooped rind [of the oak] that seems A huge throat calling to the clouds for drink. |
2. A kind of liquor for drinking; a beverage.
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xv, Næron ða..mistlice..drincas. c 1200 Ormin 3212 Hiss drinnch wass waterr. Ibid. 15397 Þuss birrleþþ defell & hiss þeww Aȝȝ werrse & werrse drinnchess. 13.. Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. (E.E.T.S.) 490/219 And oþer drynkes þat weore dere In Coupes ful gret. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iii. x, Wyth their drinke, which they call Sorbet. 1691 Tryon Wisd. Dictates 4 Delight not in Meats and Drinks that are too strong for Nature. 1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters I. 154 The ancient Persians..esteemed water the best drink. 1884 Gustafson Found. Death i. (ed. 3) 3 The fermented drinks of antiquity were but little adulterated. |
3. spec. a. Intoxicating alcoholic beverage. Hence in various phrases: Indulgence to excess in intoxicating liquor; habits of intemperance, drunkenness.
in drink: intoxicated, drunk.
| 1042 O.E. Chron., Her ᵹefor Harðacnut swa þæt he æt his drinc stod. c 1340 Cursor M. 2942 (Trin.) Ȝyue we our fadir [Lot] ynowȝe of drinke. 1553 Brende Q. Curtius 211 (R.) Hauynge then hys senses ouercome with drynke. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. iv. 458, I doe not speake to thee in Drinke. 1605 ― Macb. iii. vi. 13 The two delinquents..That were the Slaues of drinke. 1659 D. Pell Impr. Sea 79 Take heed that your Sea-men see not the least appearance of drink in your eyes. 1887 H. R. Tedder in Dict. Nat. Biog. IX. 330/2 With advancing years Caulfield took to drink. 1890 Besant Demoniac iv. 46 Not a drop of drink of any kind shall be put on board that boat. 1894 Hall Caine Manxman 284 Heaving into the hall like a man in drink. Mod. Drink's doings. |
b. specifically described, as
strong, ardent drink.
small drink: see
beer n.1 1 b.
| 1526–34 Tindale Luke i. 15 He..shall nether drinke wyne ner stronge drinke. 1544 T. Phaer Regim. Lyfe (1553) B ij a, Drynke onely pennye ale, or suche smalle drynke. 1648 Gage West Ind. xv. 106 The great abuse of wines and strong drinks. a 1774 Fergusson Election Poems (1845) 40 Our Johnny's nae sma drink, you'll guess. 1890 Besant Demoniac ii. 27 Ardent drinks of various kinds. |
c. Colloq. phr. to have drink taken, to have drunk alcoholic liquor; to be intoxicated or suffering from the effects of drink; hence in various
ellipt. uses.
| [1914 Joyce Dubliners 125 How easy it was to know a gentleman even when he has a drop taken.] 1924 Kipling Debits & Credits (1926) 186, I saw 'em, sir, come out..not drunk, but all—all havin' drink taken. 1930 ‘Sapper’ Finger of Fate 286 When men of Denton's calibre get into the condition of ‘drink-taken’, such trifles as the presence of other guests in the house do not deter them from being offensive. 1963 ‘A. Gilbert’ Ring for Noose iii. 41 You're sure he's dead, not just drink taken? |
4. The action or habit of drinking (to excess); a time or occasion of drinking.
rare exc. in
colloq. phr. on the drink.
Cf. drunk n.2 1.
| 1865 Reader No. 148. 495/1 He has been out on the drink. 1887 Rider Haggard Jess ii, Her brute of a husband was always on the drink and gamble. 1894 R. S. Ferguson Charters Carlisle xxx, There was a great drink in Carlisle that night. |
5. a. A draught or portion of liquid;
spec. a glass of wine or other alcoholic liquor.
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. x. 42 Swa hwylc swa sylþ anne drinc cealdes wæteres. 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 289 As me hym [Edward the Martyr] drynke toc. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) viii. 29 A well to þe whilk Moyses ledd þam and gafe þam a drynk þeroff. 1535 Coverdale Ps. lix. 3 Thou hast geuen vs a drynke off wyne. 1752 Scots Mag. (1753) Sept. 450/2 He..wanted a drink very much. 1865 Kingsley Herew. xiii, Will anybody give me a drink of milk? 1888 W. D. Lighthall Yng. Seigneur 154 He was rich, for had he not paid the drinks? |
b. A medicinal potion or draught.
| 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. vii. 261 Leches..don men dyȝen þoruȝ heor drinke er destenye wolde. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 74 Þis is a perfiȝt drynke to woundes of þe heed. c 1500 Melusine xxxvi. 247 A lectuary or drynk wherof ye shal be poysonned. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. i. i. 15 Wee will give you sleepie Drinkes. 1657 W. Coles Adam in Eden cccxxv. 601 The decoction therof in Wine, is an exceeding good Wound-drink. 1884 Law Times 310/2 One of the defendant's men came back with two drinks for the calf. |
| fig. 1400–50 Alexander 1106 Þou sall be drechid of a drinke, a draȝte of vnsele. |
6. colloq. (
orig. U.S.). A river or body of water.
big drink: the Mississippi; the Atlantic; the sea. Always preceded by
the.
| 1832 J. K. Paulding Westward Ho! I. 121 Sing dumb, or I'll throw you into the drink. 1844 Daily Picayune (New Orleans) 24 Mar. 2/2 There never would have been any Atlantic ocean if it hadn't been for the Mississippi, nor never will be after we've turned the waters of that big drink into the Mammoth Cave! 1844 Dickens Mart. Chuz. xxxiii. 396 ‘He'd spill 'em in the drink:’ whereby the Capting metaphorically said he'd throw them in the river. 1857 Holland Bay Path xii. 137 So you'd better scull your dug-out over the drink again. a 1860 N.Y. Spirit of Times (Bartlett Dict. Amer. s.v. Big), Off I sot, went through Mississippi, crossed the big drink. 1873 Roots (1888) 47 If you don't sit steady, we shall be spilt into the drink. 1882 M. E. Braddon Mt. Royal II. iv. 79, I was coming across the Big Drink as fast as a Cunard could bring me. 1884 Illustr. Lond. News 1 Nov. 410/2 Many of the Transatlantics will doubtless take a journey across what they call ‘the big drink’ to hear her. 1941 New Statesman 30 Aug. 218/3 The Drink, the sea. 1942 T. Rattigan Flare Path i. 102 Down 'e goes into the drink turning and twisting. 1944 Penguin New Writing XX. 130 A British pilot was being pulled out of the drink. 1960 L. Meynell Bandaberry xiv. 183 [He] had fished us out of the drink just, and only just, in time. |
† 7. Barley;
cf. drink-corn in 9.
Obs. rare.
| 1573 Tusser Husb. xviii. (1878) 45 Where barlie did growe, laie wheat to sowe. Yet better I thinke, sowe pease after drinke. Ibid. xxxiii. (1878) 75. |
8. attrib. and
Comb. (chiefly in sense 3).
a. simple
attrib., as
drink-bill,
drink-crave,
drink-craving,
drink-demon,
drink-duty,
drink-evil,
drink-habit,
drink-interest,
drink-licence,
drink-party,
drink-table,
drink-time,
drink-traffic,
drink-tray, etc.; used for the sale or consumption of alcoholic liquors, as
drink-house,
drink-room,
drink-shop,
drink-stall; also with
pl. of sense 5 a, as
drinks party, etc.
b. objective, as
drink-conveyer,
drink-giver,
drink-maker,
drink-seller;
drink-inspiring,
drink-prohibiting,
adjs. c. instrumental, as
drink-blinded,
drink-closed,
drink-sodden,
drink-washed adjs.| 1884 Boston (Mass.) Jrnl. 13 Sept., The *drink-bill of Tennessee is $2,000,000 more than the wheat-crop. |
| 1888 Pall Mall G. 13 Oct. 2/1 Murderous attacks..at a moment of *drink-blinded fury. |
| 1638–48 G. Daniel Eclog. iii. 162 Hardly to hope That Eye (*drinke-closed still) can ever ope. |
| 1713 C'tess of Winchilsea Misc. Poems 57 Your self (reply'd the *Drink-conveigher) May be my Ruin. |
| 1896 Tablet 1 Feb. 171 The *drink-demon in possession of a young wife. |
| 1890 W. James Princ. Psychol. II. xxviii. 685 The *drink-habit is only a symptom of their disease. 1960 H. Edwards Spirit Healing xi. 92 The drink habit passed away. |
| 1883 M. Davitt in Contemp. Rev. Aug. 178 The low *drinkhouse and the brothel. |
| 1885 Pall Mall G. 23 July 2/2 Grocers' *drink licences. |
| 1963 L. Meynell Virgin Luck vi. 156 Who were all those people at the *drink party? |
| 1888 Pall Mall G. 13 Feb. 2/1 We might reasonably have objected to the *drinkseller voting. |
| 1883 Miss Howard Guenn 15 Through the glass door of a *drink-shop came an orange glow. |
| 1890 W. Booth In Darkest Eng. ii. vii. 243 The disorganised, sweated, hopeless, *drink-sodden denizens of darkest England. 1904 H. G. Wells Food of Gods iii. iii. 240 The drink-sodden wretchedness of the painted women at the corner. |
| 1967 L. Meynell Mauve Front Door xv. 214 The dramatist sends one of his characters to the always lavishly well-stocked *drink table. |
| 1961 R. Jeffries Evidence of Accused v. 55 They had arrived at *drink-time. |
| 1885 Pall Mall G. 28 July 2/3 His attitude towards the *drink traffic. |
| 1964 E. Bowen Little Girls iii. vii. 237 He had removed the tea tray, brought in the *drink tray. |
| 1962 E. Salter Voice of Peacock xii. 127 A funeral party and a *drinks party on the agenda. 1970 C. Wood Terrible Hard iii. 36 Perhaps they shouldn't have given that drinks party so soon. |
| 1966 J. B. Priestley Salt is Leaving vi. 70 Alan..followed her to the *drinks table. 1971 ‘D. Halliday’ Dolly & Doctor Bird ix. 119 Johnson moved across to the drinks table, and..began to pour three neat doubles. |
| 1966 Observer (Colour Suppl.) 13 Nov. 40/2 The Cocktail Hour, commonly known as *drinks time, is a mysterious 6–8 p.m. limbo. |
| 1966 Listener 24 Nov. 763/3 A middle-aged couple ensconced in a lovely home: the *drinks tray, stage left, in constant use. |
| 1963 Harper's Bazaar Feb. 15/1 Coiled mats of silver plate on copper..look good on the *drinks trolley. |
9. Special comb.:
† drink-corn, the grain used in brewing, barley;
drink-drowned a., intoxicated;
drink-offering, an offering of wine or other liquid poured out in honour of a deity, a libation; hence
drink-offerer;
drink-penny = drink-money;
drink problem = drinking problem s.v. drinking vbl. n. 4 c; see
problem 3 c (b).
| 1669 Worlidge Syst. Agric. (1681) 15 The Open [Country]..yields us the greater part of our *Drink-Corn. |
| 1600 Rowlands Lett. Humours Blood xxii. 28 When signeur Sacke and Suger *drinke-drown'd reeles. |
| 1824 J. Symmons tr. æschylus' Agam. 9 In vain..the *drink-off'rers sacrifice. |
| 1535 Coverdale Gen. xxxv. 14 Jacob set vp a piler of stone..and poured *drynkofferynges theron. |
| 1593 Dee Diary (Camden) 45, I gave him a saffron noble in ernest for a *drinkpeny. |