mezcal & mescal
Sep. 12th, 2025 07:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
prettygoodwordmezcal (meh-SKAL) - n., a Mexican liquor distilled from a fermented mash of roasted agave hearts; any agave that mezcal is made from, also called maguey.
mescal (meh-SKAL) - n., alternate spelling of the liquor mezcal; either of two species of spineless, dome-shaped cactus, Lophophora williamsii or L. diffusa, usually called peyote, that produces the hallucinogen peyote.
Peoples of Mexico fermented roasted agave hearts well before Spaniards arrived. The Spanish fermented this drink, which they called pulque (origin of the name unknown but possibly Nahuatl), to create mezcal/mescal/mexcal, as they variously spelled it, deriving the name from Nahuatl mexcalli, roasted agave, from metl, agave + ixcalli, baked/cooked thing. Tequila (named after a town in Jalasco, from Nahuatl Tecuila, place of tribute) is a mezcal made specifically from blue agave (Agave tequilana) in a specific region -- much like champagne is only made in a specific region. The cactus name is a misapplication of the agave name that no one can explain, and I only included that sense because the hallucinogenic compound it contains is called mescaline after it.
That was more complicated than I expected. I'm regretting not running this earlier in exchange for a simpler entry, because I held over a bonus word that I don't think I can get away with not running in a words-from-Nahuatl week:
axolotl (AK-suh-law-tuhl) - n., a paedomorphic salamander (Ambystoma mexicanum) native to lakes in what is now Mexico City.
The above is the standard English pronunciation. The name is taken directly from Classical Nahuatl āxōlōtl, pronounced ay-shoh-lohtsch, which is generally understood as from ātl, water + xōlōtl, male servant, though the latter might have also meant axolotl, with the prefix added to distinguish the salamander from actual male servants.
And that finishes this theme week, and uses up all my planned words from various Native American/First Nations languages of North America. Back next week with the usual assorted heap.
---L.
mescal (meh-SKAL) - n., alternate spelling of the liquor mezcal; either of two species of spineless, dome-shaped cactus, Lophophora williamsii or L. diffusa, usually called peyote, that produces the hallucinogen peyote.
Peoples of Mexico fermented roasted agave hearts well before Spaniards arrived. The Spanish fermented this drink, which they called pulque (origin of the name unknown but possibly Nahuatl), to create mezcal/mescal/mexcal, as they variously spelled it, deriving the name from Nahuatl mexcalli, roasted agave, from metl, agave + ixcalli, baked/cooked thing. Tequila (named after a town in Jalasco, from Nahuatl Tecuila, place of tribute) is a mezcal made specifically from blue agave (Agave tequilana) in a specific region -- much like champagne is only made in a specific region. The cactus name is a misapplication of the agave name that no one can explain, and I only included that sense because the hallucinogenic compound it contains is called mescaline after it.
That was more complicated than I expected. I'm regretting not running this earlier in exchange for a simpler entry, because I held over a bonus word that I don't think I can get away with not running in a words-from-Nahuatl week:
axolotl (AK-suh-law-tuhl) - n., a paedomorphic salamander (Ambystoma mexicanum) native to lakes in what is now Mexico City.
The above is the standard English pronunciation. The name is taken directly from Classical Nahuatl āxōlōtl, pronounced ay-shoh-lohtsch, which is generally understood as from ātl, water + xōlōtl, male servant, though the latter might have also meant axolotl, with the prefix added to distinguish the salamander from actual male servants.
And that finishes this theme week, and uses up all my planned words from various Native American/First Nations languages of North America. Back next week with the usual assorted heap.
---L.
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Date: 2025-09-12 10:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-09-13 04:21 am (UTC)That wasn’t an entirely planned effect, but I’ll take it.
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Date: 2025-09-13 07:32 am (UTC)Aw, this translates in my head as "sea butler". Very cute!
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Date: 2025-09-15 02:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-09-14 08:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-09-15 02:41 pm (UTC)