tincture

American  

[tingk-cher] / ˈtɪŋk tʃər /

noun

1. Pharmacology. a solution of alcohol or of alcohol and water, containing animal, vegetable, or chemical drugs.

2. a slight infusion, as of some element or quality.

   A tincture of education had softened his rude manners.

3. a trace; a smack or smattering; tinge.

   a tincture of irony.

4. Heraldry. any of the colors, metals, or furs used for the fields, charges, etc., of an escutcheon or achievement of arms.

5. a dye or pigment.

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verb (used with object)

tinctures, present (3rd person singular) tinctured, past participle, past tincturing present participle

1. to impart a tint or color to; tinge.

2. to imbue or infuse with something.

tincture British  

/ ˈtɪŋktʃə /

noun

1. pharmacol a medicinal extract in a solution of alcohol

2. a tint, colour, or tinge

3. a slight flavour, aroma, or trace

4. any one of the colours or either of the metals used on heraldic arms

5. obsolete a dye or pigment

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verb

1. (tr) to give a tint or colour to

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pretincture
  noun
• untinctured
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• tincturing
  present
• tinctured
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• tincture
  simple
• tinctures
  simple
• have tinctured
  perfect
• has tinctured
  perfect
• am tincturing
  progressive
• are tincturing
  progressive
• is tincturing
  progressive
• have been tincturing
  perfect progressive
• has been tincturing
  perfect progressive

Past

• tinctured
  simple
• had tinctured
  perfect
• was tincturing
  progressive
• were tincturing
  progressive
• had been tincturing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will tincture
  simple
• will have tinctured
  perfect
• will be tincturing
  progressive
• will have been tincturing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of tincture

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English: “dye,” from Latin tīnctūra “dyeing”; equivalent to tinct + -ure

Explanation

A tincture is a trace or indication that reveals the presence of something. In pharmacology, a tincture is type of medicine extracted from a plant in an alcohol solution. There are many meanings to the word tincture, but most of them involve something that leaves a trace or residue. A barrel-aged drink could have a tincture of oak. After a breakup, seeing an old flame could leave a tincture of sadness. When making drugs, a tincture is created by soaking a plant in an alcohol solution: traces of the plant are absorbed into the alcohol, creating medicine. The root is the Latin word tinctura, "act of dying or tingeing."

Example Sentences

Dillon uses Scrappy’s Lime Bitters in Wild Ginger McKenzie’s gin-based Neil deLemongrasse Tyson cocktail, and Scrappy’s Firewater Tincture to add bite to tequila drinks.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 2, 2018

Other symptoms of shortages: > Tincture of iodine has been replaced by an alcoholic solution of complex phenols that penetrate deeply into the skin but that do not corrode metal or stain linen.

From Time Magazine Archive

And moreover, excellent Wits ought not to be drawn to the Tincture of Metals, before they be exercised well in the knowledge of Nature.

From Mysteries of the Rosie Cross Or, the History of that Curious Sect of the Middle Ages, Known as the Rosicrucians; with Examples of their Pretensions and Claims as Set Forth in the Writings of Their Leaders and Disciples by Anonymous

Tincture of quince was used as a cosmetic.

From Selections from the Poems and Plays of Robert Browning by Reynolds, Myra

Vanilla Tincture.—Make this from a broken Vanilla Bean, just as you would make Lemon Tincture.

From Twenty-Five Cent Dinners for Families of Six by Corson, Juliet