Adjacent Words

Vinegar definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

VIN'EGAR, n.
1. Vegetable acid; an acid liquor obtained from wine, cider, beer or other liquors, by the second or acetous fermentation. Vinegar may differ indefinitely in the degree of its acidity. When highly concentrated, it is called radical vinegar.
2. Any thing really or metaphorically sour. [Not in use.]
Vinegar of lead, a liquor formed by digesting ceruse or litharge with a sufficient quantity of vinegar to dissolve it.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: sour-tasting liquid produced usually by oxidation of the alcohol in wine or cider and used as a condiment or food preservative [syn: vinegar, acetum]
2: dilute acetic acid

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English vinegre, from Anglo-French vin egre, from vin wine (from Latin vinum) + egre keen, sour — more at eager Date: 13th century 1. a sour liquid obtained by fermentation of dilute alcoholic liquids and used as a condiment or preservative 2. ill humor ; sourness 3. vim

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a sour liquid obtained from wine, cider, etc., by fermentation and used as a condiment or for pickling. 2 sour behaviour or character. Derivatives: vinegarish adj. vinegary adj. Etymology: ME f. OF vyn egre ult. f. L vinum wine + acer, acre sour

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Vinegar Vin"e*gar, v. t. To convert into vinegar; to make like vinegar; to render sour or sharp. [Obs.] Hoping that he hath vinegared his senses As he was bid. --B. Jonson.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Vinegar Vin"e*gar, n. [OE. vinegre, F. vinaigre; vin wine (L. vinum) + aigre sour. See Wine, and Eager, a.] 1. A sour liquid used as a condiment, or as a preservative, and obtained by the spontaneous (acetous) fermentation, or by the artificial oxidation, of wine, cider, beer, or the like. Note: The characteristic sourness of vinegar is due to acetic acid, of which it contains from three to five per cent. Wine vinegar contains also tartaric acid, citric acid, etc. 2. Hence, anything sour; -- used also metaphorically. Here's the challenge: . . . I warrant there's vinegar and pepper in't. --Shak. Aromatic vinegar, strong acetic acid highly flavored with aromatic substances. Mother of vinegar. See 4th Mother. Radical vinegar, acetic acid. Thieves' vinegar. See under Thief. Vinegar eel (Zo["o]l.), a minute nematode worm (Leptodera oxophila, or Anguillula acetiglutinis), commonly found in great numbers in vinegar, sour paste, and other fermenting vegetable substances; -- called also vinegar worm. Vinegar lamp (Chem.), a fanciful name of an apparatus designed to oxidize alcohol to acetic acid by means of platinum. Vinegar plant. See 4th Mother. Vinegar tree (Bot.), the stag-horn sumac (Rhus typhina), whose acid berries have been used to intensify the sourness of vinegar. Wood vinegar. See under Wood.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(vinegars) Vinegar is a sharp-tasting liquid, usually made from sour wine or malt, which is used to make things such as salad dressing. N-MASS

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Heb. hometz, Gr. oxos, Fr. vin aigre; i.e., "sour wine." The Hebrew word is rendered vinegar in Ps. 69:21, a prophecy fulfilled in the history of the crucifixion (Matt. 27:34). This was the common sour wine (posea) daily made use of by the Roman soldiers. They gave it to Christ, not in derision, but from compassion, to assuage his thirst. Prov. 10:26 shows that there was also a stronger vinegar, which was not fit for drinking. The comparison, "vinegar upon nitre," probably means "vinegar upon soda" (as in the marg. of the R.V.), which then effervesces.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

vin'-e-ger (chomets; oxos): Vinegar, whose use as a condiment (Ru 2:14) needs no comment, is formed when a saccharine fluid passes through a fermentation that produces acetic acid. In the ancient world vinegar was usually made of wine, although any fruit juice can be utilized in its manufacture, and "vinegar of strong drink" (palm juice?) is mentioned in Nu 6:3. Undiluted vinegar is of course undrinkable, and to offer it to a thirsty man is mockery (Ps 69:21), but a mixture of water and vinegar makes a beverage that was very popular among the poor (Greek oxos, oxukraton, Latin posca--names applied also to diluted sour wine). It is mentioned in Nu 6:3 (forbidden to the Nazirite) and again in the Gospels in the account of the Crucifixion. The executioners had brought it in a vessel (Joh 19:29) for their own use and at first "offered" it to Christ, while keeping it out of reach (Lu 23:36). But at the end the drink was given Him on a sponge (Mr 15:36; Mt 27:48; Joh 19:29,30). In addition, the King James Version, following Textus Receptus of the New Testament, has "vinegar .... mingled with gall" in Mt 27:34, but this rests on a false reading, probably due to Ps 69:21, and the Revised Version (British and American) rightly has "wine." Vinegar, like all acids, is injurious to the teeth (Pr 10:26); and when it is combined with niter an effervescence is produced (Pr 25:20). The appropriateness of the last figure, however, is obscure, and Septuagint reads "as vinegar on a wound," causing pain.

Burton Scott Easton

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. Acetic acid (dilute and impure). II. a. Sour, acid.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

A name given to the person who with a whip in his hand, and a hat held before his eye, keeps the ring clear, at boxing-matches and cudgel-playing; also, in cant terms, a cloak.

Moby Thesaurus

acid, acidulant, bread-and-butter pickle, brine, chokecherry, crab apple, dill pickle, embalming fluid, formaldehyde, green apple, lemon, lime, pickle, preservative, preservative medium, salt, sour, sour balls, sour cream, sour grapes, sour pickle, sourdough, verjuice, yogurt