28 September 2018
aguardiente
[ah-gwahr-dee-en-tee; Spanish ah-gwahr-th yen-te]
noun
1. a type of brandy made in Spain and Portugal.
2. a liquor, popular in South and Central America, made from sugar cane.
3. (in Spanish-speaking countries) any distilled spirit.
Origin of aguardiente
1815-1825, Americanism; < Spanish, contraction of agua ardiente literally, fiery water; see aqua, ardent
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for aguardiente
Historical Examples
They desired not to eat or to drink—not even of my aguardiente, which is the best.
Cabbages and Kings
O. Henry
We shall give him a share for the provisions, for the tools, for the aguardiente.
The Story of a Mine
Bret Harte
He readily yields to it, and tosses off another glass of the aguardiente.
The Lone Ranche
Captain Mayne Reid
Today’s quote
Silence is a true friend who never betrays.
– Confucius
On this day
28 September 551BC – birth of Confucius, Chinese teacher and philosopher, founder of Confucianism. Died 479BC.
28 September 1330 – birth of Nicholas Flamel, French alchemist who purportedly made it his life’s work to decode a mysterious book, known as Book of Abramelin the Mage. Some believe he decoded the recipe for the Philosopher’s Stone, which could turn base metals into silver and gold, and was said to be the elixir of life. Died 22 March 1418(?) He was seen at least 3 times after his death, which led to rumour that he had produced the elixir of life and was therefore immortal. He has been immortalised in numerous books and movies, including ‘Harry Potter‘ by J.K. Rowling, and the ‘Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel‘ series by Michael Scott.
28 September 1864 – The birth of Revolutionary Marxism following a meeting at St Martin’s Hall in London of delegates from different countries in an effort to unify the various left-wing groups comprised of communists, socialists, anarchists and trade unionists. The meeting resulted in the founding of the International Workingmen’s Association or First International. The First International was headquartered in London and directed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels who had long stated that the working class struggle had to be supported internationally or would fail.
28 September 1872 – birth of David Uniapon, indigenous preacher, author and inventor. He is on the Australian $50 note. David influenced government decision making regarding aboriginal issues and invented a hand-piece for shearing sheep. Died 7 February 1967.
28 September 1895 – death of Louis Pasteur, French bacteriologist, one of the founders of microbiology. Invented the process for preventing milk and wine from causing sickness, known as pasteurisation. (Not entirely fool-proof, as over-imbibing wine still seems to cause sickness in some). Born 27 December 1822.
28 September 1967 – birth of Moon Unit Zappa, American musician. Daughter of legendary musician, Frank Zappa.