aqua vitae

1. (alchemy) An aqueous solution of alcohol typically prepared by distilling wine.
2. (chemistry, archaic) A concentrated aqueous solution of ethanol.
3. (beverages, archaic) French brandy or cognac.
   • c. 1597, William Shakespeare,  […] [T]he Merrie Wiues of Windsor. […] (First Quarto), London: Printed by T[homas] C[reede] for Arthur Ihonson, […], published 1602, OCLC 670741489 ↗, [Act II, scene ii] ↗:

     Ile ſooner truſt an Iriſhman with my / Aquauita bottle, Sir Hu[gh Evans] our parſon with my cheeſe, / A thief#English|theefe to walk my ambling gelding, thẽ my wife / With her ſelfe; {{...}