vermouth

noun

Etymology: From French vermout, vermouth, from German Wermut (“wormwood”). Doublet of wormwood.

1. A dry, or sweet apéritif wine flavored with aromatic herbs, and often used in mixed drinks.

   “He gazed around until on the lid of a spinet he spotted a promising collection of bottles, gin, whiskey, vermouth and sherry, mixed with violin bows, a flute, a toppling pile of books, six volumes of Grove's Dictionary mingled with paperback thrillers, a guitar without any strings, a pair of binoculars, a meerschaum pipe and a jar half-full of wasps and apricot jam.”

   “Vermouth originated in the 18th century, when wine growers in the foothills of the French and Italian Alps developed a method of enhancing the taste of sour or uncompromising wines with the infusion of a variety of sweeteners, spices, herbs, roots, seeds, flowers, and peel.”

2. A serving of vermouth.

   “As we sat over our vermuths he glorified the Company’s business, and by-and-by I expressed casually my surprise at him not going out there.”