mescal Hear it!

mescal definition

mes·cal (mes kal)

noun

  1. a colorless alcoholic liquor of Mexico made from pulque or other fermented agave juice: it is lower in quality and rougher in taste than tequila
  2. any plant from which this liquor is made
  3. a small, spineless cactus (Lophophora williamsii) of N Mexico and the SW U.S., with rounded stems, whose buttonlike tops (mescal buttons) are chewed, specif., in religious ceremonies by Mexican Indians, for their hallucinogenic effects

Etymology: Sp mezcal < Nahuatl mexcalli

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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