Toddy
/ˈtɒd.i/noun
A hot or cold alcoholic drink, typically made with spirits, water, sugar, and spices.
Did you know?The English drink name was borrowed in the 17th century from a South Asian word for fermented palm sap, showing how colonial contact can turn a local alcohol term into a global bar staple.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Dravidian
PDr
*tāy / *tāḍ-
“A term connected with palm sap or toddy in South Asian languages, likely referring to fermented palm juice.”
Early Modern South Asian languages
Indic
tāṛī / tārī
“Palm wine or fermented sap tapped from palm trees.”
17th Century
English
toddy
“A drink made from alcohol mixed with hot water, sugar, and spices; later also a cold mixed drink.”
18th Century
English
toddy
“A common term in British colonial usage for palm wine in South Asia and for mixed spirits back home.”
Modern English
English
toddy
“A mixed alcoholic drink, often served hot.”