# alcoholic

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˌæl.kəˈhɒl.ɪk/ · frequency rank #8,114

## Definitions
1. A person who is addicted to alcohol.
2. One who abuses alcohol.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Akkadian 𒎎𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕 (guḫlum)bor.
Aramaic כוחלא (kuḥlā)bor.
Arabic كُحْل (kuḥl)
Andalusian Arabic اَلْكُحُول (al-kuḥūl)bor.
Medieval Latin alcoholder.
Middle English alcofol
English alcohol
Proto-Indo-European *-kos
Proto-Italic *-kos
Latin -cus
Latin -icuslbor.
Old French -iquebor.
Middle English -ik
English -ic
English alcoholic
First attested 1891, from alcohol + -ic.

## Easily confused with
- **alcoholism** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/alcoholic-vs-alcoholism)
- **alcohol** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/alcohol-vs-alcoholic)

## Common misspellings (13)
`acloholic`, `alccoholic`, `alchoolic`, `alcohholic`, `alcohloic`, `alcohoilc`, `alcoholci`, `alcoholicc`, `alcohollic`, `alcoohlic`, `allcoholic`, `alocholic`, `lacoholic`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/alcoholic