aqua vitae

• aqua vitæ

From Middle English aqua vite, from Latin aqua vītae, from aqua (“water”) and vitae (“of life”), hence "water of life".

aqua vitae (countable and uncountable, plural aquae vitae)

1. (alchemy) An aqueous solution of alcohol typically prepared by distilling wine.
2. (chemistry, archaic) A concentrated aqueous solution of ethanol.
3. (beverages, archaic) French brandy or cognac.
   • c. 1597, William Shakespeare,  […] [T]he Merrie Wiues of Windsor. […] (First Quarto), London: Printed by T[homas] C[reede] for Arthur Ihonson, […], published 1602, OCLC 670741489, [Act II, scene ii]:

     Ile ſooner truſt an Iriſhman with my / Aquauita bottle, Sir Hu[gh Evans] our parſon with my cheeſe, / A theefe to walk my ambling gelding, thẽ my wife / With her ſelfe; […]

Literally "water of life", from aqua (“water”) + vīta (“life”).

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈa.kʷa ˈwiː.tae̯/
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈa.kwa ˈvi.tɛ/, [ˈaː.kwa ˈviː.tɛ]

• Audio (Classical)

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aqua vītae f (genitive aquae vītae); first declension

1. distilled alcohol; spirits

First declension.

• Romanian: apa vieții
• English: aqua vitae
• English: aqua vitae