Pastis

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A pale yellow French alcoholic drink flavored with anise that turns cloudy when mixed with water and is often served before a meal
2. An aniseed-flavoured apéritif popular in France, traditionally diluted with water and drunk as an appetizer before dinner
3. A French liquor tasting of star anise and licorice that clouds into a milky white shade when water is added to it

Etymology: Pastis is the French name for an anise-flavoured aperitif, and its name comes from Provençal "pastis", meaning a mixture or a mess. The French word and its Provençal source have the same root as "pasta" and "paste", all ultimately tied to the idea of kneading or mixing a dough. Yet the drink took its name from something quite ordinary: a mixed, muddled concoction in the everyday sense. The English noun was borrowed directly from French, so the word reached English in its modern drinking sense rather than through any older English usage. Speakers who first met the drink in France tended to keep the French name, which is why the word has stayed unchanged in English.