Where does “water of life” come from?
water of life (English) comes from Irish uisce beatha, from Medieval Latin aqua vitae, from Latin vita, from Latin vivo, from Proto-Italic gʷīwō, from Proto-Indo-European gʷíh₃weti, from Proto-Indo-European gʷih₃wós, from Proto-Indo-European gʷeih₃w- — to live.
water of life (English): a distilled spirit
Definitions
- a distilled spirit
Ancestry of “water of life”, step by step
water of life traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Irish uisce beatha
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Irish | uisce beatha | whiskey |
| 2 | Medieval Latin | aqua vitae | distilled alcohol; spirits |
| 3 | Latin | vita | life; living, support, subsistence; a way of life |
| 4 | Latin | vivo | I live; I am alive, I survive; I reside in |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | gʷīwō | live, be alive |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷíh₃weti | to live, to be alive |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷih₃wós | alive, living |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷeih₃w- | to live |
via Scottish Gaelic uisge-beatha
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scottish Gaelic | uisge-beatha | whisky |
| 2 | Scottish Gaelic | uisge | water; rain, shower; river, stream |
| 3 | Old Irish | uisce | water |
| 4 | Proto-Celtic | udenskyos | water |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | wódr̥ | water |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | wed- | water |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wey- | to wither; fade; to move, go ahead; to be strong;... |