mother of vinegar

American  

noun

1. mother.

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Etymology

Origin of mother of vinegar

First recorded in 1595–1605

Example Sentences

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.

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 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

In the early stages, pulpy masses looking like "mother" of vinegar are very obstructive.

From Bronchoscopy and Esophagoscopy A Manual of Peroral Endoscopy and Laryngeal Surgery by Jackson, Chevalier

This consists in the change of alcohol into acetic acid through the agency of a minute organism commonly called mother of vinegar.

From An Elementary Study of Chemistry by McPherson, William