† prussn.
Obsolete. rare.
A fermented drink made with an extract from the leaves, branches, or bark of the spruce fir; = spruce beer n.
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the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > ale or beer > non-malted brews > [noun] > spruce beer
pruce beer1576
spruce beer1706
spruce1741
prussa1771
a1771 T. Jefferys W.-India Atlas (1775) 18/1 The Americans use them to produce a fermentation and give an agreeable taste to a drink called ‘Pruss’, which is nothing more than the infusion of the bark of a tree.
1783 J. O. Justamond tr. G. T. F. Raynal Philos. Hist. Europeans in Indies (new ed.) V. 337 A liquor called Pruss, which is only an infusion of the bark of a tree.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2018).
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n.a1771