“Brandy” Comes from “Burned Wine,” and Other (Judeo-)Linguistic Notes about Liquor

Got a question for Philologos? Ask him directly at philologos@mosaicmagazine.com.

Mosaic reader Shelly Rosen writes:

“My zeyde always drank a schnaps before dinner and said he was drinking a ‘brunfin,’ or maybe a ‘brunfun.’ Do you think there is any connection between this word and the whiskey-making Bronfman family of Canada? And what is the word’s correct form?”