Hungary water
Hungary water noun: one of various early modern perfumes and elixirs made of rosemary, camomile or later lavender infused in various alcohols.
Noun
Hungary water (countable and uncountable, plural Hungary waters)
- One of various early modern perfumes and elixirs made of rosemary, camomile or later lavender infused in various alcohols.
- ...Your Bottle of Hungry Water to your Lady...1697, John Vanbrugh, The Provok'd Wife, act V, line 77
- Certain unscrupulous men may call upon you here in your dressing-room. They will lavish you with flowers, with compliments, with phials of Hungary water and methuselahs of the costliest champagne. You must be wary of such men, my hearts, they are not to be trusted.1991 September, Stephen Fry, chapter 1, in The Liar, London: Heinemann, →ISBN, section I, page 7
Forms of Hungary water
| plural | Hungary waters |
|---|---|
| alternative form | Hungary-water |
| alternative form (obsolete) | Hungry-water |
| alternative form (obsolete) | Hungry water |
Origin of Hungary water
Ellipsis of Queen of Hungary's water, possibly a calque of French Eau de la Reine de Hongrie, after its supposed origin.
Questions about Hungary water
- What does Hungary water mean?
- Hungary water means one of various early modern perfumes and elixirs made of rosemary, camomile or later lavender infused in various alcohols.
- What part of speech is Hungary water?
- Hungary water is a noun.
- What is the plural of Hungary water?
- The plural of Hungary water is Hungary waters.
Words near Hungary water in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: Hungary water (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “Hungary water.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hungary_water. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.