mescal

M3E1S1C3A1L1
/mɛˈskæl//mɛˈskɑl//ˈmɛzkæl/

noun

A Mexican alcoholic drink distilled from the fermented juice of the agave.

Similar
mezcalpeyoteLophophora williamsii
OriginMexican Spanish mezcal →
UncommonScrabble 10
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Meanings

mescal1

nounmescal (countable and uncountable, plural mescals)

plural mescals · alternative mezcal · alternative rare mexcal

  1. countableuncountableA Mexican alcoholic drink distilled from the fermented juice of the agave.

    He thought: 900 pesos=100 bottles of whiskey=900 ditto tequila. argal: one should drink neither tequila nor whiskey but mescal.

    1947, Malcolm Lowry, Under the Volcano, New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, page 77
  2. countableuncountableThe peyote cactus.

Mescal2

proper nounMescal (countable and uncountable, plural Mescals)

plural Mescals

  1. countableuncountableA surname from Irish.
  2. countablerareuncountableA female given name.
  3. countableuncountableA census-designated place in Cochise County, Arizona, United States.

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna small spineless globe-shaped cactus; source of mescal buttons

Similar
mezcalpeyoteLophophora williamsii
Broader
cactus
Also see
peyote

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

mescal · noun

  1. Mexican Spanishmezcal
  2. Englishmescal

From Mexican Spanish mezcal, from Nahuatl or Classical Nahuatl mexcalli (“intoxicating drink made from fermented agave juice”), perhaps from metl (“maguey (agave)”) + ixcalli (“stew”).

More words from Mexican Spanish

Full word history & related roots →

Mescal · proper noun

  1. IrishÓ Meiscill“descendant of Meisceall”
  2. EnglishMescal

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Meiscill (“descendant of Meisceall”), a personal name perhaps related to meisce (“drunkeness, intoxication”).

More words from Irish

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Esperanto meskalo
  • meskaloMexican alcoholic drink
Russian меска́ль
  • меска́ль (meskálʹ)Mexican alcoholic drink

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

masclescamel
Cite this entry
APA

mescal. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mescal

MLA

“mescal.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mescal. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mescal,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mescal.

Source: mescal on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.