Muscatel

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A sweet dessert wine created from muscat grape varieties, typically having a fruity and floral aroma
2. A specific beverage known for its rich sweetness made from selected muscat grapes, often enjoyed on special occasions
3. A type of dessert wine produced from muscat grape varieties, noted for its sweet and fruity taste

Etymology: Muscatel is a sweet wine, but the word started as a description of grape flavour. It came into Middle English as "muskadel," borrowed from Old Occitan "muscadel," and the Occitan form was itself a diminutive of "muscat," the name for the musky-scented grape family from which the wine is made. The "-el" ending is the trace of that diminutive, so the word's shape literally means "a little muscat." The grape name "muscat" in turn points to musk, the strong perfume that the grapes' aroma was thought to resemble. So a wine named after a grape named after a scent carries a small chain of perfume references in its spelling. Over time the word narrowed from the grape-based idea to a specific sweet, rich fortified wine, which is the sense still used today.

Synonyms: sweet wine, dessert wine