Meanings
plural firewaters
- countableinformaluncountableHigh-proof alcoholic beverage, especially whiskey (especially in the context of its sale to or consumption by Native Americans).
Four polite Englishmen in their middle 20s, feigning like firewater drunks in a Eugene O'Neill play: it's exactly the stuff that makes their detractors groan.
2012 November 15, Tom Lamont, “How Mumford & Sons became the biggest band in the world”, in The Guardian1 more example
High Jack had been drinking too much rum ever since we landed in Boca. You know how an Indian is—the palefaces fixed his clock when they introduced him to firewater.
1909, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “He Also Serves”, in OptionsSynonyms: adult beverage, alcohol, bevvy, booze, carouse, drink, fuddling, grog
- countableespeciallyuncountablebusinessWater for use in firefighting.
A continuously circulated firewater line supplies a deluge cooling system in each gathering center for fire containment.
1981, Energy Progress, page 2051 more example
A break in a firewater line at BP Whiting Refinery caused water with an oil-like sheen to spread outside the refinery's walls along a section of Indianapolis Boulevard Tuesday night.
2015 March 18, Karen Caffarini, “Cause of line break unknown at BP”, in Post-Tribune - countableuncountableHigh-temperature hydraulic condensate discharged from industrial boilers.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounHigh-proof alcoholic beverage, especially whiskey (especially in the context of its sale to or consumption by Native Americans).
nounSynonym of alkahest.
Origin
- Ojibweishkodewaaboo“alcohol”
- Englishfirewater
A calque of a Native American language term, probably Ojibwe ishkodewaaboo (“alcohol”), from ishkodew- (“fire”) + -aaboo (“liquid”, glossed in older works as “water”). A number of other Algonquian, Siouan and Athabaskan languages also refer to whiskey with compounds that mean "fire-water" (on which basis noted Algonquianist Leonard Bloomfield even reconstructed a Proto-Algonquian word for it, *eškwete·wa·po·wi, although this cannot have existed). The motivation of the name is not entirely clear: It may refer to the “burning” feeling of ingesting high-proof alcohol, or to its flammability; alternatively, it may refer to how low-quality spirits also often included ingredients such as pepper, which burned. Non-alcohol-related senses are simply fire + water.
More words from Ojibwe
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Czech ohnivá voda
- ohnivá vodahigh-proof alcoholic beverage
Danish ildvand
- ildvandhigh-proof alcoholic beverage
Dutch vuurwater, bluswater
- vuurwaterhigh-proof alcoholic beverage
- bluswaterwater for use in firefighting
Finnish tuliliemi, tulistettu vesi
- tuliliemihigh-proof alcoholic beverage
- tulistettu vesihigh temperature hydraulic condensate
French eau d'extinction
- eau d'extinctionwater for use in firefighting
German Feuerwasser, Löschwasser
- Feuerwasserhigh-proof alcoholic beverage
- Löschwasserwater for use in firefighting
Portuguese aguardente
- aguardentehigh-proof alcoholic beverage
Russian огненная вода
- огненная вода (ognennaja voda)high-proof alcoholic beverage
Cite this entry
firewater. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/firewater
“firewater.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/firewater. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “firewater,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/firewater.
Source: firewater on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.