Scottish Gaelic uisge beatha supplied whiskybae, which was shortened to whisky. The Irish counterpart is uisce beatha.
Only the Scottish Gaelic phrase is scored. Irish is a parallel source, not a stage before Scottish Gaelic; beatha has the force of “of life” here.
Sources
- Collins: whisky
The entry gives the Scottish phrase, its literal meaning and the shortened English form.
- Merriam-Webster: whiskey
The entry lists whisky and whiskey, their plurals, and the parallel Irish and Scottish Gaelic phrases.