poteen

[ puh-teen, -cheen, -theen, poh- ]
See synonyms for: poteenpoteens on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. the first distillation of a fermented mash in the making of whiskey.

  2. illicitly distilled whiskey.

Origin of poteen

1
1805–15; <Irish poitín literally, small pot, diminutive of potapot1

Words Nearby poteen

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use poteen in a sentence

  • And a drop of poteen is a wonderful thing to drive away the melancholy thoughts that haunt and bother so many of us.

  • He introduced a timprance lecturer that towld the boys the poteen was pizenin' thim, an' 'twas wather they must dhrink.

    Ireland as It Is | Robert John Buckley (AKA R.J.B.)
  • I wouldn't thrust one of thim to rub down a horse, nor wid a bottle of poteen.

    Ireland as It Is | Robert John Buckley (AKA R.J.B.)
  • If they 're cows, begad they must have got at that sixty-three gallons of poteen you talked of; for they're all drunk.

    Jack Hinton | Charles James Lever
  • Their poteen (whiskey) craft, handed down by their Scotch-Irish ancestors, survives today in what outlanders term moonshining.

    Blue Ridge Country | Jean Thomas

British Dictionary definitions for poteen

poteen

poitn

/ (pɒˈtiːn) /


noun
  1. (in Ireland) illicit spirit, often distilled from potatoes

Origin of poteen

1
C19: from Irish poitín little pot, from pota pot

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012