lager
/ˈlɑːɡə
/noun [mass noun]
A kind of effervescent beer which is light in colour and body: a sought-after brand of lager [count noun]: the English habit of sinking a few post-match lagers a free house with a wide range of lagers...
- Beer, lager and cider were the most popular drinks but there was a sharp increase in alcopops drinkers.
- Austrian beer, such as the light lagers and heavier Bock - brewed for Christmas and Easter - is on par with the better known German varieties.
- Winning the quiz, aside from the kudos and respect from your peers, nets you eight pints of beer or lager.
Origin
Mid 19th century: from German Lagerbier 'beer brewed for keeping', from Lager 'storehouse'. Compare with laager, lair1, and leaguer2.
The fuller name for lager, no longer much used, is lager beer. It comes from German Lagerbier ‘beer brewed for keeping’, from Lager ‘storehouse’, which shares its root with an animal's lair (Old English), and also with lie (Old English). Since the 1980s we have had the lager lout, the young man who drinks too much and then behaves in an unpleasant or violent way. See also beer