verjuice

[ vur-joos ]

/ ˈvɜrˌdʒus /

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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 verjuiced .

of or relating to verjuice.

sour in temper, expression, etc.

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Origin of verjuice

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

Words nearby verjuice

Veríssimo, veritable, veritas, vérité, verity, verjuice, Verkhne-Udinsk, Verkhoyansk Range, verklempt, verkrampte, Verlaine

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use verjuice in a sentence

It is the apt accompaniment of a whining tongue, the fit complement of a verjuice countenance.
A Cursory History of Swearing|Julian Sharman
That spruce, affected little popinjay over there, who looks as if he had been drinking verjuice.
Catherine de' Medici|Honore de Balzac
Bishop Swinfield's vineyard at Ledbury yielded seven pipes of white wine and nearly one of verjuice in the autumn of 1289.
Notes and Queries for Worcestershire|John Noake
The word occurs often in a sense in which acetum is the best representative, associated with verjuice and vinegar.
Notes and Queries, Number 73, March 22, 1851|Various

On the same man, as in a vineyard, grow far different grapes—on the sunny south nectar, and on the bleak north verjuice.
Anima Poet|Samuel Taylor Coleridge

British Dictionary definitions for verjuice

verjuice

/ (ˈvɜːˌdʒuːs) /

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