mother of vinegar

American  

noun

1. mother.

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Etymology

Origin of mother of vinegar

First recorded in 1595–1605

Example Sentences

Vin′egar-cru′et, a glass bottle for holding vinegar; Vinegarette′, a vinaigrette; Vin′egar-plant, the microscopic fungus which produces acetous fermentation—found in two forms known as mother of vinegar and flowers of vinegar.—adjs.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various

It is one of the aerobic ferments, and is present in what is known as the "mother" of vinegar and is secreted by it.

From Human Foods and Their Nutritive Value by Snyder, Harry

The mother of vinegar examined in the same way is seen to be swarming with a mass of wriggling little worms, and may possibly cause the observer to abstain from all salads forever after.

From The Boy Mechanic: Volume 1 700 Things for Boys to Do by Popular Mechanics Co.

It is these bacteria which form the zoogloea of the "mother of vinegar," though this film may contain other organisms as well.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 2 "Baconthorpe" to "Bankruptcy" by Various

The two ideas for which the same word is used are hardly more alike than mother of pearl and mother of vinegar.

From The Booklover and His Books by Koopman, Harry Lyman