Gins
/dʒɪnz/noun
Plural of gin, a type of distilled spirit flavored with juniper; also a machine or trap in some older uses.
Did you know?The alcohol sense of gin comes from Dutch jenever and French genièvre, but English also had an older unrelated word gin meaning a device or snare, which is why the word feels so eerily mechanical.
Etymological Timeline
Middle English
English
gin
“A contrivance, engine, or snare; a machine for trapping or lifting.”
17th Century
Dutch
jenever
“Juniper-flavored spirit; literally 'juniper'.”
17th Century
French
genièvre
“Juniper; by extension, a juniper-flavored spirit.”
17th Century
English
gin
“A distilled spirit flavored with juniper, borrowed from Dutch and French forms.”
Modern English
English
gins
“Plural of gin, referring to multiple bottles or kinds of the spirit, or multiple traps in older usage.”