Tequila

How to spell tequila

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce tequila

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does tequila mean?

1. nounA strong Mexican spirit distilled from the blue agave plant.

Tequila in a sentence

• The bar served a shot of tequila with salt and lime.

• She ordered a margarita made with premium tequila.

Where does tequila come from?

Language of origin: Spanish

Tequila reached English from Mexican Spanish in the late nineteenth century, and it is one of the rare drink names that is straightforwardly a place name. The spirit is named after the town of Tequila in the state of Jalisco, in western Mexico, where it has been distilled from the blue agave plant for centuries. The town's own name is thought to come from a word in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, with proposals ranging from a meaning like 'place of cutting' or 'place of work', perhaps referring to the harvesting of the agave, though the exact sense is debated. Because the word came intact from Spanish, the spelling keeps the Spanish pattern in which 'qu' carries a hard 'k' sound and the following 'i' is sounded fully, which is the main thing that trips English writers up. Remember that it follows the same 'qui' shape as 'quinine' and 'mosquito', and that there is no 'c' anywhere in it.

How the word is built

• tequila (place name, from the town of Tequila in Jalisco, Mexico; ultimately from Nahuatl)