Sack

the name of a certain light colored wine. The word is from the French see, meaning dry. Sack, accordingly, is a dry wine, that is to say, a strong alcoholic wine free from sweetness or fruity flavor. The term was applied originally to strong white wine brought to England from Spain and the Canary Islands. It was used by way of distinction from the wines of the Rhine and the red wines of France. Shakespeare's plays are full of reference to a cup of sack, etc. It was the favorite beverage of Falstaff. See Wine; Alcohol