Alcoholic beverages as a whole have had a sanitary role for long: in the antiquity water generally was not drinkable and alcohol having antibacterial properties made beverages safe for drinking. The bible does not give water a beverage, and only a few Greek texts talk about it. In the east, on the other hand, water was boiled to make tea, which killed pathogens [hist 7].
| English | honey | mead |
| German | Honig | Met |
| Polish | miód | miód |
| Russian | mjod | mjod |
| Dutch | mede | |
| French | miel | hydromel |
| Italian | idromele | |
| Spanish | ||
| Sanskrit | mādhu | |
| Latin | mel | hydromel |
| Greek | meli (mèli) | meqh (méthē)
melikatoz (melíkātos) udromeli (hudrōmeli) |
| Gaul | zythus, corma | |
| Welsh | meddyglyn | |
| Breton | chouchen | |
| Finnish | mesi | |
| Swedish | mjöd | |
| Norvegian | honning | mjød |
| Danish | miød | |
