What does eggnog mean?
Eggnog is a sweet, creamy beverage traditionally made by blending beaten eggs with milk or cream, sugar, and flavorings such as nutmeg or vanilla, frequently fortified with rum, brandy, or bourbon. Served chilled or gently warmed, it is one of the most recognizable seasonal drinks of the Christmas period, especially in the United States and Canada, where it appears at holiday parties, family gatherings, and even on coffee-shop menus in variations like the eggnog latte. The word combines 'egg' with 'nog', an old term for strong ale that itself derives from 'noggin', a small drinking cup. Eggnog's lineage traces back to early European warm milk punches, including the English posset, and it crossed the Atlantic with colonists who adapted it using readily available rum. Because commercial versions are widely sold each winter while homemade recipes remain popular, the word carries cozy, nostalgic connotations of festivity and abundance, making it a firmly established part of the seasonal lexicon.
nounA rich, sweet drink made with milk or cream, sugar, whipped eggs, and often spirits such as rum, brandy, or bourbon, traditionally consumed during the Christmas season in the United States and Canada.
- A cold or warmed drink of beaten eggs, milk or cream, and sugar, typically flavored with nutmeg and often spiked with rum, brandy, or whiskey, associated especially with Christmas in North America.
"The whole family gathered around the fire, mugs of warm eggnog in hand."
"She sprinkled fresh nutmeg over the eggnog before serving it to her guests."
"The café's holiday menu features an eggnog latte topped with whipped cream."
Usually treated as uncountable; the plural appears mainly when referring to individual servings or different recipes of the drink.
"The bar offered three different eggnogs, ranging from classic bourbon-spiked to a nonalcoholic vanilla version."
Eggnog likely descends from a medieval hot milk-and-ale drink called posset, and George Washington reportedly served his own heavily booed version at Mount Vernon.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of eggnog
The word eggnog is a compound of 'egg' and 'nog', an English dialect term for strong ale that likely comes from 'noggin', a small wooden mug. It arose in colonial American English, probably in the late eighteenth century, when the term was applied to drinks mixing eggs with ale, wine, or spirits. Its ancestry connects it to older British heated milk-and-alcohol drinks such as posset, which colonists adapted into the chilled, spirit-fortified version now standard in North America.
How eggnog is actually used
Predominantly North American in modern usage and strongly associated with the Christmas season; considered casual, festive vocabulary rather than formal. In British English the drink is less familiar, and older British equivalents such as 'egg flip' may be encountered.
Easily confused with eggnog
Custard is a cooked dessert set by heat, whereas eggnog is a drink made from raw or lightly cooked eggs blended with dairy and often alcohol.