April 12, 2008, 09:49
<Asa Lovejoy>Water of life?
Why is it that so many cultures associate booze with life, or water of life, or, more elementally, just plain water, which is essential to life? The Gaelic
uisge beatha is one example; the Scandanavian
aquavit(from Latin aqua vitae) is another;
vodka is another. Then there's the term,
spirits, which suggests life.
It seems lots of people have found booze to be among life's essentials for a loooong time!
April 12, 2008, 09:53
zmježdI believe that Latin
aqua vitae (i.e., 'water of life') was an alchemical term (cf.
aqua fortis and
aqua regia for acids). English, Gaelic, and Scandinavian terms are probably calques (or loan translations). Water is
aqua, and
aqua vitae is alcohol. Slavic
vodka means literally 'little water' (as there is very little water in it, innit?).