Drunks

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /dɹʌŋks/

Definitions

1. A group of individuals under the influence of alcohol, often exhibiting impaired judgment and behavior
2. A collection of people who consume excessive amounts of alcoholic beverages in a social context
3. Individuals characterized by their inebriated state, leading to loss of coordination and inhibition

Etymology: "Drunks" is simply the plural of "drunk" used as a noun for people who are intoxicated, so the story belongs to the singular. The adjective descends from Old English "druncen" and "gedruncen," meaning intoxicated, which was the past participle of the verb "drinkan," to drink. In other words, a drunk person was originally just someone who had "been drunk," the same way a sunken ship has sunk. The shape of the word has barely changed for a thousand years. Its Proto-Germanic ancestor was "drunkanaz," and the same participle survives across the family: Dutch "dronken," German "betrunken," Swedish "drucken," and Icelandic "drukkinn." Such close kinship suggests the word was already rooted in drinking habits long before English existed as a separate language.

Synonyms: alcoholics, inebriates

Antonyms: sober individuals, teetotalers