Grog/groggy

A generic word for alcohol dates from the late 18th century. Derives from grogram, a coarse-grained cloth from which cloaks were once made. Old Grog was the nickname British sailors gave to Admiral Edward Vernon (1684-1757) because he wore a distinctive grogram cloak. In 1740, Admiral Vernon was instrumental in watering down the standard naval rum issue, to which sailors did not take kindly. In disgust, they called the watered down rum, grog, after the Admiral, and the name stuck. Groggy originally meant drunk in the late 18th century, but by the 19th century, the meaning had migrated to any weakened or shaky condition, once again built on the original notion of weakened or watered down rum.