chartreuse n.

esteemed type of liqueur, 1866, from la Grande-Chartreuse, chief monastery of the Carthusian order, which was founded 11c. and named for the massif de la Chartreuse (Medieval Latin Carthusianus) mountain group in the French Alps, where its first monastery was built. The liqueur recipe dates from early 17c.; the original now is marketed as Les Pères Chartreux. The color name (1884) is from the pale apple-green hue of the best type of the liqueur.