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)

tinctured, tincturing

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

• pretincture
  noun
• untinctured
  adjective

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 Tincture of iodine has been replaced by an alcoholic solution of complex phenols that penetrate deeply into the skin but that do not corrode metal or stain linen.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

BLACK.—Write with a Solution of Green Vitriol and wash with Tincture of Galls.

From One Thousand Secrets of Wise and Rich Men Revealed by Bogardus, C. A.

If the animal is much weakened by this, give him one teaspoonful Huxam's Tincture of Bark three times a day.

From The Dog by Dinks

Tincture of iodine may be diluted with alcohol for especially sensitive skins; it sometimes causes blisters, and should not be applied more than once a day at most.

From American Red Cross Text-Book on Home Hygiene and Care of the Sick by Cross, American Red