entry
drink
/drɪŋk/Consume liquid through the mouth
From Germanic, with uncertain deeper ancestry drink (to swallow liquid).
from Proto-Germanic *drinkaną (“to drink”), of uncertain origin; possibly
from Old English drincan (“to drink, swallow up, engulf”)
from Middle English drinken
Word Ancestry
from Proto-Germanic *drinkaną (“to drink”), of uncertain origin; possibly
from Old English drincan (“to drink, swallow up, engulf”)
from Middle English drinken
Before it became the everyday command to reach for a glass, drink could mean “swallow up” or “engulf”—a thirsty verb with surprisingly oceanic ambitions. Old English drincan appears in the same Germanic family as German trinken, Dutch drinken, and Old Norse drekka, but its deeper ancestry is foggy: one theory connects it to a reconstructed root meaning “draw into the mouth,” while another tradition links many Indo-European words for drinking to a different root entirely. That uncertainty is genuine; English did not inherit the most obvious relatives of Latin bibere, the ancestor behind words such as bib and imbibe. By the late 12th century, drink was already established in English, and by the mid-15th century it had narrowed especially toward consuming alcoholic liquor. Its older engulfing shadow survives in drown, probably built from the same Germanic base—or perhaps influenced by Old Norse—and every time you say “drown out,” the ancient image of water swallowing something is still bobbing underneath.
The Story
Before it became the everyday command to reach for a glass, drink could mean “swallow up” or “engulf”—a thirsty verb with surprisingly oceanic ambitions. Old English drincan appears in the same Germanic family as German trinken, Dutch drinken, and Old Norse drekka, but its deeper ancestry is foggy: one theory connects it to a reconstructed root meaning “draw into the mouth,” while another tradition links many Indo-European words for drinking to a different root entirely. That uncertainty is genuine; English did not inherit the most obvious relatives of Latin bibere, the ancestor behind words such as bib and imbibe. By the late 12th century, drink was already established in English, and by the mid-15th century it had narrowed especially toward consuming alcoholic liquor. Its older engulfing shadow survives in drown, probably built from the same Germanic base—or perhaps influenced by Old Norse—and every time you say “drown out,” the ancient image of water swallowing something is still bobbing underneath.
Modern Usage
A beverage, often alcoholic; also “in the drink,” meaning over or finished.
Notable References
- “That’s your fourth drink, you know”
- “in the drink”
Kin & Kindred
From 'drink'·to swallow liquid; possibly to draw into the mouth
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia
Wiktionary