Alkoholisk

Alkoholisk is an adjective used in several Nordic languages, notably Swedish and Norwegian, to denote something related to alcohol. It can describe substances or phenomena linked to ethanol, such as alcoholic beverages or effects of drinking. In everyday language, more precise terms are often preferred: for beverages, many speakers use alkoholhaltig or dryck med alkohol; for describing intoxication, phrases like berusad or påverkad av alkohol are common.

In medical and research contexts, “alkoholisk” is rarely used as a diagnostic label. The modern, formal terminology distinguishes Alcohol Use Disorder or alcohol dependence, depending on the language and classification system. The term “alkoholism” is recognizable in some languages as a disease concept, but contemporary psychiatry emphasizes standardized criteria and uses terms that specify the degree of problematic use and related health risks.

Etymology and cognates: The word derives from alkohol plus the suffix -isk, a pattern common in Scandinavian vocabularies to form adjectives. The root alkohol ultimately comes from the Arabic al-kuḥl via Latin and Germanic languages.