Gimlette

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. A cocktail consisting of alcohol, typically gin or vodka, mixed with lime juice and sometimes sugar
2. An alcoholic beverage prepared by combining spirits with fresh or bottled lime juice and often sweetening
3. A mixed drink made from strong liquor blended with lime juice, served chilled as a refreshment

Etymology: Sir Thomas Desmond Gimlette was a Royal Navy surgeon who served in tropical postings in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He believed gin mixed with lime juice helped sailors and colonial officers avoid scurvy, and the cocktail that bears his name grew from that mix. The drink is nearly always spelled "gimlet," so "gimlette" is best read as the surgeon's own surname spelling, preserved in the name of the drink's origin story. The name "gimlet" is older and unrelated. It is the tool for boring small holes, which entered English in Middle English, probably from Old French "guimbelet." The cocktail took the tool's name, perhaps for its piercing sharpness, though the link is uncertain. The spelling "gimlette" also appears as a variant in some older sources.