Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A sweet cordial flavored with fruit kernels or almonds.
- noun A biscuit flavored with ratafia.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A sweet, cordial flavored with fruits: sometimes limited to those the flavor of which is obtained from black currants, bitter almonds, or peach- and cherry-kernels.
- noun A kind of fancy cake or biscuit.
- noun A flavoring essence of which the principal ingredient is benzoic aldehyde or oil of bitter almonds.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A spirituous liquor flavored with the kernels of cherries, apricots, peaches, or other fruit, spiced, and sweetened with sugar; -- a term applied to the liqueurs called
noyau ,curaçao , etc.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
liqueur orcordial flavored withpeach orcherry kernels, bitteralmonds , or otherfruits .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun macaroon flavored with ratafia liqueur
- noun sweet liqueur made from wine and brandy flavored with plum or peach or apricot kernels and bitter almonds
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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For the finale, a traditional liqueur called ratafia is steeping basically fruit and spices soaked in brandy for a few weeks, and although declaring herself "not crafty," Curtis is trying gamely to hand-paint teacups.
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The stronger or less diluted the spirit is taken, the sooner it seems to destroy, as in dram-drinkers; but still sooner, when kernels of apricots, or bitter almonds, or laurel-leaf, are infused in the spirit, which is termed ratafia; as then two poisons are swallowed at the same time.
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A fire was burning in the grate to warm the salon, and ratafia biscuits and a flask of sherry were arrayed on a side table.
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Then came trifle, ratafia biscuits, and a baked custard dusted with cinnamon, and three types of cheeses and grapes to finish.
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Her hand tightened about her glass of ratafia as their gazes locked.
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The ladies made themselves at home in the blue sitting room to talk, sip ratafia, and await the arrival of the gentlemen.
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Right now, Dervishton and Falkland were gallantly arguing over who should fetch her a new glass of ratafia.
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Right now, Dervishton and Falkland were gallantly arguing over who should fetch her a new glass of ratafia.
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Her hand tightened about her glass of ratafia as their gazes locked.
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The ladies made themselves at home in the blue sitting room to talk, sip ratafia, and await the arrival of the gentlemen.
chained_bear commented on the word ratafia
"...they took their coffee and ratafia biscuits (the sea-going equivalent of petits fours) in the great cabin..."
--P. O'Brian, The Yellow Admiral, 126
March 19, 2008
hernesheir commented on the word ratafia
Larousse Gastronomique lists ratafia as a term for quince liqueur or quince water.
February 18, 2010
hernesheir commented on the word ratafia
Generally, a liqueur obtained without distilling, by simple infusion.
February 18, 2010