different between liqueur vs liquour

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French liqueur. Doublet of liquor.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /l??kj??/, /l??kj??/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /l??k?/, /l??k??/

Noun

liqueur (countable and uncountable, plural liqueurs)

1. A flavoured alcoholic beverage that is usually very sweet and contains a high percentage of alcohol. Cordials are a type of liqueur manufactured using the infusion process as opposed to the essence and distillation processes.

Related terms

Translations

See also

• cordial
• ratafia

Further reading

• liqueur on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Verb

liqueur (third-person singular simple present liqueurs, present participle liqueuring, simple past and past participle liqueured)

1. to flavor or treat (wine) with a liqueur
2. to top up bottles of sparkling wine with a sugar solution

   Every champagne has to be liqueured after its disgorgement, to replace the inevitable loss.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin liquor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /li.kœ?/

Noun

liqueur f (plural liqueurs)

1. alcoholic liqueur
2. (literary) drinkable liquid
3. (Canada) fizzy drink, pop
4. (obsolete) liquid
5. (Louisiana) liquor

Derived terms

• liqueur de dosage
• liqueur de tirage

Usage notes

• Liqueur and liquor are false friends: French liqueur never applies to alcoholic drinks in general.
• The Quebec use of the term is frequently targeted as an anglicism (from liquor), even though the meaning ("non-alcoholic drink") is older and has little connection to either English term.

Further reading

• “liqueur” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

English

Noun

liquour (countable and uncountable, plural liquours)

1. Obsolete form of liquor.

Verb

liquour (third-person singular simple present liquours, present participle liquouring, simple past and past participle liquoured)

1. Obsolete spelling of liquor

Middle English

Noun

liquour

1. Alternative form of licour