# mead

> English word · Noun · IPA /miːd/ · frequency rank #16,528

## Definitions
1. An alcoholic drink fermented from honey and water.
2. A drink composed of syrup of sarsaparilla or other flavouring extract, and water, and sometimes charged with carbon dioxide.

## Etymology
From Middle English mede, from Old English medu, from Proto-West Germanic *medu, from Proto-Germanic *meduz, from Proto-Indo-European *médʰu (“honey; honey wine”).
Cognate with Ancient Greek μέθυ (méthu) (whence English methyl), Lithuanian medùs, Old Church Slavonic медъ (medŭ, “honey”), Persian می (mey), Sanskrit मधु (mádhu), Welsh medd, Finnish mesi, Chinese 蜜 (mì).

## Easily confused with
- **men** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mead-vs-men)
- **met** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mead-vs-met)
- **MUD** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mead-vs-mud)
- **mod** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mead-vs-mod)
- **med** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mead-vs-med)
- **MIA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mead-vs-mia)
- **mel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mead-vs-mel)
- **MMA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mead-vs-mma)
- **meh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mead-vs-meh)
- **Mei** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mead-vs-mei)
- **MLA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mead-vs-mla)
- **mer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mead-vs-mer)
- **MEP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mead-vs-mep)
- **mee** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mead-vs-mee)
- **mes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mead-vs-mes)
- **mew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mead-vs-mew)
- **moa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mead-vs-moa)
- **mex** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mead-vs-mex)
- **MSA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mead-vs-msa)
- **MTA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mead-vs-mta)

## Common misspellings (4)
`emad`, `meadd`, `meda`, `mmead`

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