fusel oil

English

Etymology

The word "fusel" comes from German Fusel, which is used to refer to low-quality alcoholic beverages in general, especially to inferior wines and spirits distilled with inadequate equipment.

Noun

fusel oil (plural fusel oils)

A mixture of several higher-order alcohols (alcohols with more than two carbon atoms) formed as byproduct in the normal fermentation process. An excessive concentration, as in low-quality moonshine, causes unpleasant taste.
- 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage 2007, p. 849:
  many simply blamed […] the Doosra's known enthusiasms for opium, ganja, and any number of local fusel oils, singly or combined, named and nameless.

Synonyms

fusel alcohol
potato oil

Translations

byproduct of alcoholic fermentation

Finnish: sikunaöljy
Russian: сиву́шное ма́сло n (sivúšnoje máslo)

Spanish: aceite de fusel m

Anagrams

fuel oils

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.