brandywine

brandywine · noun¹

1. Dutch · borrowed frombrandewijn
2. English todaybrandywine

Borrowed from Dutch brandewijn. Doublet of brännvin.

Brandywine · proper noun²

Not known with certainty; so named since the 17th century; several long-held hypotheses exist, including a story of casks of brandywine that were spilled in the river's mouth in the colonial era, a fancied resemblance of the turbid water's color to that of brandywine, and an early Euro-American settler whose surname was similar to brandewijn or brandywine.

Brandywine · noun³

Unknown; the plant variety has been traced back far into the 19th century by seed savers, but the origin of its name is lost; speculations include the possibility that the fruit's color was likened to that of brandywine, or that the variety was bred in the Brandywine Valley.

Words from the same roots