1844, "a drink of liquor," earlier "a sniff," from a Scottish and northern English survival of an obsolete verb snift meaning "to sniff, snivel" (mid-14c.), of imitative origin (compare sniff (v.)). Meaning "large bulbous stemmed glass for drinking brandy" is from 1937. The association of "drinking liquor" with words for "inhaling, snuffling" (such as snort (n.), snootful) is perhaps borrowed from snuff-taking and the nasal reaction to it.
black currant liquor, 1907, from French cassis (16c.) "black currant," apparently from Latin cassia (see cassia). The modern liqueur dates from mid-19c.
mid-15c., "small weight of apothecary's measure," a phonetic spelling, from Anglo-Latin dragma, Old French drame, from Late Latin dragma, from Latin drachma "drachma," from Greek drakhma "measure of weight," also, "silver coin," literally "handful" (of six obols, the least valuable coins in ancient Athens), akin to drassesthai "to grasp" (see drachma). The fluid dram is one-eighth of a fluid ounce, hence "a small drink of liquor" (1713). Hence dram shop (1725), where liquor was sold by the shot.
"large bottle for wine or liquor," mid-15c., from Old French flacon, flascon "small bottle, flask" (14c.), from Late Latin flasconem (nominative flasco) "bottle" (see flask).
spiced drink of hot milk and wine or liquor, mid-15c., of unknown origin. Formerly much in favor as a luxury and as medicine. Posset-cup is from c. 1600.
also porterhouse, "restaurant or chophouse where porter, ale, and other malt liquors are sold or served," 1754, from porter (n.3) + house (n.). Porterhouse steak, consisting of a choice cut of beef between the sirloin and the tenderloin (1841) is said to be from a particular establishment in New York City.
type of paste made from fermented soya beans and barley or rice malt, used in Japanese cooking, by 1727 (from 1615 as misso in the log-book of English pilot William Adams, published in 1916), from Japanese, of uncertain etymology; said to be from Middle Korean myècwú, the name of a comparable sauce.
