poteen
/pəˈtiːn/ noun
Forms poteens
- noun (Ireland, countable, uncountable) Illegally produced Irish whiskey; moonshine.
- noun (Ireland, countable, by extension) An unlicensed drinking establishment selling illegally produced Irish whiskey.
Etymology
From Irish poitín (“little pot; poteen”), from pota (“pot”) (from Middle English potte, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *budn- (“type of vessel”)) + -ín (diminutive suffix).
Webster’s 1913
- noun Whisky; especially, whisky illicitly distilled by the Irish peasantry. [Written also potheen, and potteen.]
Etymology [Cf. Ir. potaim, poitim, I drink, poitin a small pot.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “poteen”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details