Aperitif

“Would you care for an aperitif before dinner ma’am? sir?”
 
Did you know that in its origins the word aperitif means a laxative?  Yes, the word aperitif comes from French aperitif (laxative, laxative liqueur) and from Latin aperitivus, aperire (to open, to uncover). Let’s not talk about what needs to open or to be uncovered.
 
The word aperitif came to English in the 1890s meaning a little drink to loosen you up, to awaken the digestive juices, so to speak, before dinner. Maybe not so much as to clear the decks for action as to simply stimulate the appetite.
 
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/
​