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Tincture definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

TINC'TURE, n. [L. tinctura.]
1. The finer and more volatile parts of a substance, separated by a menstruum; or an extract of a part of the substance of a body, communicated to the menstruum. Hence,
2. In medicine, a spiritus solution of such of the proximate principles of vegetables and animals as are soluble in pure alcohol or proof-spirit; wine or spirits containing medicinal substances in solution.
3. A tinge or shade of color; as a tincture of red.
4. Slight taste superadded to any substance; as a tincture or orange-peel.
5. Slight quality added to any thing; as a tincture of French manners.
All manners take a tincture from our own.
TINC'TURE, v.t. To tinge; to communicate a slight foreign color to; to impregnate with some extraneous matter.
A little black paint will tincture and spoil twenty gay colors.
1. To imbue the mind; to communicate a portion of any thing foreign; as a mind tinctured with skepticism.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a substances that colors metals
2: an indication that something has been present; "there wasn't a trace of evidence for the claim"; "a tincture of condescension" [syn: trace, vestige, tincture, shadow]
3: a quality of a given color that differs slightly from another color; "after several trials he mixed the shade of pink that she wanted" [syn: shade, tint, tincture, tone]
4: (pharmacology) a medicine consisting of an extract in an alcohol solution v
1: fill, as with a certain quality; "The heavy traffic tinctures the air with carbon monoxide" [syn: impregnate, infuse, instill, tincture]
2: stain or tint with a color; "The leaves were tinctured with a bright red"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Latin tinctura act of dyeing, from tinctus, past participle of tingere to tinge Date: 14th century 1. a. archaic a substance that colors, dyes, or stains b. color, tint 2. a. a characteristic quality ; cast b. a slight admixture ; trace <a tincture of doubt> 3. obsolete an active principle or extract 4. a heraldic metal, color, or fur 5. a solution of a medicinal substance in an alcoholic solvent II. transitive verb (tinctured; tincturing) Date: 1616 1. to tint or stain with a color ; tinge 2. a. to infuse or instill with a property or entity ; impregnate b. to imbue with a quality ; affect <writing tinctured with wit and wisdom>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. (often foll. by of) 1 a slight flavour or trace. 2 a tinge (of a colour). 3 a medicinal solution (of a drug) in alcohol (tincture of quinine). 4 Heraldry an inclusive term for the metals, colours, and furs used in coats of arms. 5 colloq. an alcoholic drink. --v.tr. 1 colour slightly; tinge, flavour. 2 (often foll. by with) affect slightly (with a quality). Etymology: ME f. L tinctura dyeing (as TINGE)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tincture Tinc"ture, n. [L. tinctura a dyeing, from tingere, tinctum, to tinge, dye: cf. OE. tainture, teinture, F. teinture, L. tinctura. See Tinge.] 1. A tinge or shade of color; a tint; as, a tincture of red. 2. (Her.) One of the metals, colors, or furs used in armory. Note: There are two metals: gold, called or, and represented in engraving by a white surface covered with small dots; and silver, called argent, and represented by a plain white surface. The colors and their representations are as follows: red, called gules, or a shading of vertical lines; blue, called azure, or horizontal lines; black, called sable, or horizontal and vertical lines crossing; green, called vert, or diagonal lines from dexter chief corner; purple, called purpure, or diagonal lines from sinister chief corner. The furs are ermine, ermines, erminois, pean, vair, counter vair, potent, and counter potent. See Illustration in Appendix. 3. The finer and more volatile parts of a substance, separated by a solvent; an extract of a part of the substance of a body communicated to the solvent. 4. (Med.) A solution (commonly colored) of medicinal substance in alcohol, usually more or less diluted; spirit containing medicinal substances in solution. Note: According to the United States Pharmacop[oe]ia, the term tincture (also called alcoholic tincture, and spirituous tincture) is reserved for the alcoholic solutions of nonvolatile substances, alcoholic solutions of volatile substances being called spirits. Ethereal tincture, a solution of medicinal substance in ether. 5. A slight taste superadded to any substance; as, a tincture of orange peel. 6. A slight quality added to anything; a tinge; as, a tincture of French manners. All manners take a tincture from our own. --Pope. Every man had a slight tincture of soldiership, and scarcely any man more than a slight tincture. --Macaulay.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tincture Tinc"ture, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tinctured; p. pr. & vb. n. Tincturing.] 1. To communicate a slight foreign color to; to tinge; to impregnate with some extraneous matter. A little black paint will tincture and spoil twenty gay colors. --I. Watts. 2. To imbue the mind of; to communicate a portion of anything foreign to; to tinge. The stain of habitual sin may thoroughly tincture all our soul. --Barrow.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(tinctures) A tincture is a medicine consisting of alcohol and a small amount of a drug. ...a few drops of tincture of iodine. N-VAR: oft N of n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Tinge, stain, tint, hue, shade, grain. 2. Flavor, taste, smack, spice. 3. Infusion, admixture, touch, dash, tinge, spice, seasoning, sprinkling, soupcon. 4. Alcoholic solution. II. v. a. 1. Tinge, stain, dye, color, tint, shade. 2. Flavor, season. 3. Imbue, impress, infuse, impregnate.

Moby Thesaurus

achievement, achromatism, alerion, animal charge, annulet, apply paint, argent, armorial bearings, armory, arms, azure, bandeau, bar, bar sinister, baton, bearings, bedaub, bedizen, begild, bend, bend sinister, besmear, besprinkle, billet, blazon, blazonry, bordure, breathe, brew, broad arrow, brush on paint, cadency mark, calcimine, canton, cast, chaplet, charge, chevron, chief, chromatism, chromism, chromogen, coat, coat of arms, coat of paint, coating, cockatrice, color, color balance, color filter, color gelatin, color harmony, color scheme, colorant, coloration, coloring, complexion, coronet, cover, crescent, crest, cross, cross moline, crown, dab, dash, daub, dead-color, decoct, decorator color, deep-dye, device, difference, differencing, dip, distemper, double-dye, dredge, drier, dye, dyestuff, eagle, emblazon, enamel, engild, entincture, ermine, ermines, erminites, erminois, escutcheon, exterior paint, face, falcon, fast-dye, fess, fess point, field, file, flanch, flat coat, flat wash, flavor, fleur-de-lis, floor enamel, fresco, fret, fur, fusil, garland, gild, glaze, gleam, gloss, grain, griffin, ground, gules, gyron, hatchment, helmet, heraldic device, hint, honor point, hue, idea, illuminate, imbrue, imbue, impalement, impaling, impregnate, inescutcheon, infiltrate, infuse, infusion, ingrain, inkling, instill, interior paint, intimation, japan, key, label, lacquer, lay on color, leaven, lick, lion, look, lozenge, mantling, marshaling, martlet, mascle, medium, metal, motto, mullet, natural color, nombril point, octofoil, opaque color, or, ordinary, orle, paint, pale, pallor, paly, parget, pean, penetrate, permeate, pervade, pheon, pigment, prime, prime coat, primer, priming, purpure, quarter, quartering, rose, sable, saltire, saturate, sauce, scintilla, scutcheon, season, seasoning, shade, shadow, shellac, shield, sip, skin color, slop on paint, smack, smattering, smear, smell, soupcon, spark, spice, spread eagle, sprinkling, stain, steep, stipple, strain, streak, subordinary, suffuse, suggestion, sup, suspicion, taint, taste, temper, tempera, tempering, tenne, thinner, thought, tinct, tinction, tinge, tint, tone, torse, touch, trace, transfuse, transparent color, tressure, turpentine, turps, undercoat, undercoating, undercolor, unicorn, vair, varnish, vehicle, vert, vestige, wash, wash coat, whitewash, wreath, yale