malmsey

views updated May 14 2018

malmsey now, a fortified Madeira wine of the sweetest type. Originally, a strong, sweet white wine imported from Greece and the eastern Mediterranean islands. The word came into English from Middle Dutch via Old French from Monemvasia, the name of a port in SE mainland Greece.

George, Duke of Clarence (1449–78), brother of Edward IV, was said by contemporary chroniclers to have been drowned in a butt of malmsey while prisoner in the Tower of London.

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ELIZABETH KNOWLES

malmsey

views updated Jun 27 2018

malmsey XV (malmesey). — MDu., MLG. malmesie, -eye (in medL. malmasia), f. Gr. place-name Monemvasia in the Morea, of which the var. Malvasia gave MALVOISIE.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

malmsey

views updated May 21 2018

malmsey See Madeira wines.

A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition DAVID A. BENDER

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