“Brännvin” - Etymology

The term “Brandy” (from Dutch  ”Brandewijn = Burnt wine ) can be found in Swedish as “Brännvin” (though it is another product. Brännvin is not a grape or fruit distillate as oposed to Brandy ).

Cognates are the German “Branntwein” and the Icelandic “Brennivín”, both meaning “burnt wine”.

In modern Swedish the term “Brännvin” should according to grammar mean “Burn wine” rather than “Burnt wine”.

It is simply a matter of linguistic history (after all it would be wrong in that it is not wine that is burnt / distilled either ).

Just wanted to make clear that i actually DO check sources even if i do paste articles from Wikipedia.

Original article: http://fornsed.tumblr.com/post/3960523682/brannvin-is-a-swedish-word-for-liquor-distilled