ratafee


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rat·a·fi·a

 (răt′ə-fē′ə) also rat·a·fee (-ə-fē′)
n.
1. A sweet cordial flavored with fruit kernels or almonds.
2. A biscuit flavored with ratafia.

[French, perhaps (via West Indian Creole tafiat, formula used to toast a person's health) from New Latin *rata fiat (rēs or conventiō), let (the thing or the agreement) be confirmed (from the practice of concluding a contract with a drink ) : Latin rata, feminine of ratus, past participle of rērī, to reckon, settle; see rate1 + Latin fiat, let it be done, third person singular present subjunctive of fierī, to become, be done; see fiat.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.ratafee - sweet liqueur made from wine and brandy flavored with plum or peach or apricot kernels and bitter almonds
brandy - distilled from wine or fermented fruit juice
cordial, liqueur - strong highly flavored sweet liquor usually drunk after a meal
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
References in periodicals archive ?
Linking insensible persuasion to "good sense," Warner emphasizes the seamless connection between body and mind: the Willoweses are "insensible" to their bodies because they are so comfortable with the established values of England, which seem to them merely "good sense." Ideas that make "good sense" implicitly include imperialism, as one of the family heirlooms is Ratafee, a stuffed green parrot memorializing a trip by the original Titus "to the Indies" (11).
The namesake of Titus, the original family imperialist, he apparently imbibed the family values by the age of four; when Lady Place is temporarily shut up, "Ratafee was removed to Hampstead" with other significant heirlooms because "Titus had insisted" (59).