mescal

American  

[me-skal] / mɛˈskæl /

noun

1. an intoxicating beverage distilled from the fermented juice of certain species of agave.

2. any agave yielding this spirit.

3. Also called peyote.  either of two species of spineless, dome-shaped cactus, Lophophora williamsii or L. diffusa, of Texas and northern Mexico, yielding the hallucinogen peyote.

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mescal British  

/ mɛˈskæl /

noun

1. Also called: peyote.  a spineless globe-shaped cactus, Lophophora williamsii, of Mexico and the southwestern US. Its button-like tubercles ( mescal buttons ) contain mescaline and are chewed by certain Indian tribes for their hallucinogenic effects

2. a colourless alcoholic spirit distilled from the fermented juice of certain agave plants

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Etymology

Origin of mescal

1695–1705, < Mexican Spanish mescal, mezcal, mexcal < Nahuatl mexcalli intoxicant distilled from agave (perhaps equivalent to me ( tl ) maguey + ( i ) xcalli something cooked)