still
The old moonshine still still produces whiskey.
The sentence states that the old distilling apparatus continues to produce whiskey — 'still' the noun (a distillery), then 'still' the adverb (continues to).
Meanings (pronounced /stɪl/)
an apparatus for distilling alcoholic liquor
- The moonshiner kept his still hidden in the woods.
- Modern stills are made of stainless steel.
continuing to be the case; even now; nonetheless
- She still works at the same company.
- It is still raining.
Word origin
Two etymologically distinct words: 'still' the noun (a distillation apparatus) is a clipping of 'distill' (from Latin distillāre, 'to drip down'), so a still is literally what does distilling. 'Still' the adverb (continues to, even now) is from Old English stille ('motionless, calm'), from Proto-Germanic *stillijaz. The 'continuing' sense developed from 'remaining motionless' to 'remaining unchanged in time.'
Fun fact
The verb 'distill' and the noun 'still' (the apparatus) are technically the same word — 'still' is a 16th-century clipping of 'distill', meaning the apparatus that performs distilling. The adverb 'still' (continuing) is from a completely separate Old English source. Two unrelated words, both spelled and pronounced the same, with completely different etymologies.