See Also: Vinegar(medicine)
vinegar(dictionary)
vinegar(encyclopedia)
vinegar(dictionary)
wood vinegar(medicine)
Balsamic vinegar(recipes)
wine vinegar(dictionary)
Wine vinegar(medicine)
balsamic vinegar(dictionary)
mother of vinegar(medicine)

vinegar (iou)



vinegar noun & verb. ME.
[Old French vyn egre (mod. vinaigre) ult. from Latin vinum wine + acer, acre sour.]
A. noun.
A sour-tasting liquid consisting chiefly of dilute acetic acid, produced by the oxidation of the alcohol in wine, other liquors, etc., and used (freq. with additives) as a condiment or food preservative. ME.
malt vinegar, raspberry vinegar, strawberry vinegar, tarragon vinegar, wine vinegar, etc. mother of vinegar: see MOTHER noun2 2. oil and vinegar: see OIL noun. piss and vinegar: see PISS noun. thieves' vinegar: see THIEF.
fig. Sour or acid speech, behaviour, or character; sourness, sharpness. E17.
She My life isn't all sweetness. There's a little vinegar there. attrib.: E. Miall A peevish and vinegar-hearted step-mother.
Comb.: vinegar Bible a 1717 Oxford edition of the Bible in which 'the parable of the vineyard' at Luke 20 read 'the parable of the vinegar'; vinegar eel a minute nematode worm, Turbatrix aceti, that breeds in vinegar; vinegar-fly a fruit fly of the genus Drosophila; vinegar mother, vinegar plant = mother of vinegar s.v. MOTHER noun2 2; vinegar stick Hist. a sword or walking-stick with a vinaigrette or holder for smelling-salts fitted into the handle; vinegar worm = vinegar eel above.
b. verb trans. Treat or flavour with vinegar; add or apply vinegar to; restore with vinegar. E17.