Hipʹpocras.

A cordial made of Lisbon and Canary wines, bruised spices, and sugar; so called from the strainer through which it is passed, called by apothecaries Hippocʹratēsʹ sleeve. Hippocratēs in the Middle Ages was called “Yypocras” or “Hippocras.” Thus:

“Well knew he the old Esculapius,

And Deiscorides, and eek Rufus,

Old Yypocras, Haly, and Galïen.”

Chaucer: Canterbury Tales (Prologue, 431).

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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.