libation

libation \ly-BAY-shun\, noun: 1. The act of pouring a liquid (usually wine) either on the ground or on a victim in sacrifice to some deity; also, the wine or liquid thus poured out. 2. A beverage, especially an alcoholic beverage. 3. An act or instance of drinking. Hearing that the train had lost one of its engines and that the remainder of the trip would be very slow, I headed for the bar car for a libation and a snack or two to soothe my growing hunger pangs. -- Lawrence Van Gelder, "Tales of Flying Cars and Trees", New York Times, May 28, 2000 Giving careful packing instructions to his Sherpas who would befreighting the spirits to his Base Camp, Todd more than half-anticipated some nights when the libation might serve to take off the edge. -- Anatoli Boukreev and G. Weston DeWalt, The Climb Libation is from Latin libatio, from libare, "to take a little from anything, to taste, to pour out as an offering."