- drink (v.)
- O.E. drincan "to drink," also "to swallow up, engulf" (class III strong verb; past tense dranc, pp. druncen), from P.Gmc. *drengkan, of uncertain origin.
"Semantically the deriv. fr. 'draw' (cf. N.E. take a draught, Lat. ducere pocula, sucos, etc.) is the most attractive, and so ultimate connection with O.E. dragan 'draw,' etc., through a nasalized form of a parallel root ...."
Not found outside Gmc. Most I.E. words for this trace to PIE *po(i)- (cf. Gk. pino, L. biber, Ir. ibim, O.C.S. piti, Rus. pit'; see imbibe). The noun meaning "beverage, alcoholic beverage" was also in O.E. To drink like a fish is first recorded 1747.