tincture

[tingk-cher]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tincture ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

a slight infusion, as of some element or quality: A tincture of education had softened his rude manners.

a trace; a smack or smattering; tinge: a tincture of irony.

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

a dye or pigment.

verb (used with object), tinc·tured, tinc·tur·ing.

to impart a tint or color to; tinge.

to imbue or infuse with something.

Origin of tincture

1350–1400; Middle English: dye < Latin tīnctūra dyeing. See tinct, -ure

Related formspre·tinc·ture, nounun·tinc·tured, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for tincture

vestige, tint, trace, color, extract, taint, pigment, cast, shade, elixir, dye, stain, tinge, imbue, imbrue

Examples from the Web for tincture

Historical Examples of tincture

Mix two drams of the tincture of galls with one dram of lunar caustic, and for marking of linen, use it with a pen as common ink.
The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches,
Mary Eaton
A tincture for the gums may be made of three ounces of the tincture of bark, and half an ounce of sal ammoniac, mixed together.
The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches,
Mary Eaton
Bruise three ounces of cloves, steep them for ten days in a quart of brandy, and strain off the tincture through a flannel sieve.
The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches,
Mary Eaton
Thou canst not withhold a tincture of lemon from the sweetest cup!
St. Cuthbert's
Robert E. Knowles
Externally, vesicant; used in form of ointment, or tincture.
Cattle and Their Diseases
Robert Jennings

British Dictionary definitions for tincture

tincture

noun

pharmacol a medicinal extract in a solution of alcohol

a tint, colour, or tinge

a slight flavour, aroma, or trace

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

obsolete a dye or pigment

verb

(tr) to give a tint or colour to

Word Origin for tincture

C14: from Latin tinctūra a dyeing, from tingere to dye

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for tincture

c.1400, from Latin tinctura "act of dyeing or tingeing," from tinctus "dye," past participle of tingere "to tinge, dye, moisten, soak," from PIE root *teng- "to soak" (cf. Old High German dunkon "to soak," Greek tengein "to moisten"). Meaning "solution of medicine in a mixture of alcohol" is first recorded 1640s. The verb is recorded from 1610s.

tincture in Medicine

tincture

[tĭngk′chər]

n.

A coloring or dyeing substance.

An alcohol solution of a nonvolatile medicine.