verjuice

[vur-joos]

noun

an acid liquor made from the sour juice of crab apples, unripe grapes, etc., formerly much used for culinary and other purposes.

sourness, as of temper or expression.

adjective Also ver·juiced.

of or relating to verjuice.

sour in temper, expression, etc.

Origin of verjuice

1275–1325; Middle English verjuis < Middle French vertjus, equivalent to vert green (< Latin viridis) + jus juice

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

Examples from the Web for verjuice

Historical Examples of verjuice

The old fellow looked as though the waiter had handed him verjuice instead of curaçoa.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 68, No 422, December 1850
Various
Pound pumice stone to a fine powder, and mix it with verjuice.
The American Housewife
Anonymous
She has kept her virtue by her until it has turned sour, and now every word and look smacks of verjuice.
Bracebridge Hall
Washington Irving
The fermented juice (verjuice) of the crab is employed in cookery and medicine.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 2
Various
Couldst see by his cheek and eye that he is as bitter as verjuice.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle

British Dictionary definitions for verjuice

verjuice

noun

the acid juice of unripe grapes, apples, or crab apples, formerly much used in making sauces, etc
(as modifier)verjuice sauce

rare

sourness or sharpness of temper, looks, etc
(as modifier)a verjuice old wife

verb

(tr) rare to make sour; embitter

Word Origin for verjuice

C14: from Old French vert jus green (unripe) juice, from Old French vert green (from Latin viridis) + jus juice (from Latin jūs)

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