Etymology of martini

[Eleusis]

As in the drink.

My mother claims it’s something to do with Marie Antoinette - and further that the shape of the glass is the shape of her nipple.

Preposterous.

I usually easily debunk her with a quick trip to Snopes (daddy longlegs, et al) but this one might be a little too obscure.

Please prove her wrong.

[Eleusis]

p.s. I found this regarding champagne glasses…

It’s a start, but I’d still like to know the true origin of “martini”.

Thanks

[Purd_Werfect]

According to the Chambers Dictionary of Etymology, it’s American English and was introduced in 1894 in allusion to Martini & Rossi, an Italian vermouth manufacturer.

[samclem]

The OED’s latest(2003) draft has an 1887 cite.

It also has a strange, as yet unexplained cite from 1884 thusly:

1884 O. H. BYRON Mod. Bartenders’ Guide 21 Martinez cocktail… Same as Manhattan, only you substitute gin for whisky.

That’s the latest found.

Was there a Martinez? Who knows? …yet.

[jovan]

I found this page that talks about the history of cocktails in America.

Just how the martini got its name remains a mystery. Trying to solve it leads the hapless etymologist down one of the most meandering paths in the English language. The British long assumed that the drink originated with the Martini & Henry rifle, used throughout the Empire and known for its strong kick. Italians have argued, plausibly enough, that the name comes from Martini & Rossi vermouth. Both are wrong. The drink predates the rifle. And it was popular long before Martini & Rossi vermouth showed up on these shores. If the drink were named after a vermouth, Noilly Prat would be the one. Lowell Edmunds, in Martini, Straight Up, found that it was being exported to the United States as early as the 1850s.

There’s a lot more and it’s an interesting read.

[Northern_Piper]

From the immortal Wayne & Schuster sketch, Rinse the Blood off my Toga

Flavius Give me a Martinus.

Claudius Don’t you mean a MartiNI?

Flavius If I wanted two, I’d ask for it.