Words at Play : 17 of the Finest Words for Drinking
Definition:
obsolete : particularly good and strong liquor; especially : good ale
Example:
"... az yet too for tast of a cup of Nippitate, hiz iudgment will be taken abooue the best in the parish, be hiz noze near so red ..." – Robert Laneham, letter, 1575
About the Word:
No one is quite certain where nippitaty (also seen on occasion as nippitate, nippitato, and nippitatum) comes from, although it's been staggering about in the English language since the 16th century.
No etymologists, to the best of my knowledge, have suggested that it is simply a drunken rendering of some other word, unintentionally coined by some scribe after having enjoyed several large glasses of the stuff.
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