n.
An alcoholic liquor originally distilled from fermented wheat mash but now also made from a mash of rye, corn, or potatoes.
[Russian, diminutive of voda, water.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.