Chaser

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈt͡ʃeɪsə/

Definitions

1. A beverage consumed after a stronger drink to reduce its intensity ; an individual who follows or hunts after someone or something
2. A mild drink taken immediately following a stronger alcoholic one to ease its taste or effects ; a person engaged in the pursuit of a goal or target
3. A non-alcoholic or gentler drink swallowed after a potent liquor to soften its impact ; one who actively pursues, follows, or seeks after another or an object

Etymology: The chaser in the bar sense is a fairly recent layer on an old word. "Chaser" descends from Middle English "chacer" and "chasour," which came from Old French "chaceür" and "chaceor," all built on "chacier," meaning "to chase or hunt." Its earliest English sense was simply a hunter or pursuer, someone who runs after game or people, and that meaning is the one the word has carried since it arrived. The drinking sense grew out of the verb "chase," meaning to pursue. Later senses of the word were shaped by or drawn from "chase" in that same sense of running after something, and the idea of following a strong drink with something milder fits that pattern: the lighter drink comes behind the stronger one like a pursuer. The word is a doublet of "chasseur," so English and French ended up with two forms of the same root, one borrowed through a different path.

Synonyms: pursuer, hunter, seeker, tracker, follower

Antonyms: fleeing, avoider, refuser, detractor, opponent