vinaigrette

[vin-uh-gret]

noun

Also vinegarette. a small, ornamental bottle or box for holding aromatic vinegar, smelling salts, or the like.

vinaigrette sauce.

adjective

(of a food, as asparagus or artichoke) served with a sauce made with vinegar or with vinaigrette sauce.

Origin of vinaigrette

1690–1700; < French, equivalent to vinaigre vinegar + -ette -ette

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

Examples from the Web for vinaigrette

Contemporary Examples of vinaigrette

Before serving, bake the cheese packages, combine the salad and vinaigrette, and serve.
The Barefoot Contessa’s Tasty Trip to Paris
Ina Garten
November 27, 2014
It is possibly the smile her vinaigrette saw when she tasted it.
Joan Juliet Buck on Being in Awe of Nora Ephron
Joan Juliet Buck
June 27, 2012
Finish with a salad of frisee, chives, parsley, tarragon and chervil lightly dressed with the vinaigrette.
Fresh Picks
Ben Pollinger
February 10, 2011
To make the vinaigrette, in a pot, reduce pomegranate juice by half and let cool.
How Top Chefs Stay Thin
Rachel Syme
December 15, 2009
The end result will be less like vinaigrette and more like a very vinegary, thin mayonnaise.
The Way To Dress A Naked Salad
Chris Styler
July 7, 2009

Historical Examples of vinaigrette

Then I was able to look at it, and recognize it as my mother's vinaigrette.
A Houseful of Girls
Sarah Tytler
I was just stopping to give Mammy my vinaigrette, to take to church with her.
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Harriet Beecher Stowe
I—I will take the vinaigrette to my room with me, I think, my dear.
Margaret Montfort
Laura E. Richards
I always thought you'd have hysterics on your wedding-day, and got my vinaigrette all ready.
Moods
Louisa May Alcott
Sibyl hastened away, and returned with her vinaigrette, which she handed to Rolfe.
The Whirlpool
George Gissing

British Dictionary definitions for vinaigrette

vinaigrette

noun

Also called: vinegarette a small decorative bottle or box with a perforated top, used for holding smelling salts, etc

Also called: vinaigrette sauce a salad dressing made from oil and vinegar with seasonings; French dressing

adjective

served with vinaigrette

Word Origin for vinaigrette

C17: from French, from vinaigre vinegar

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 vinaigrette

1690s, a type of condiment, from French vinaigrette, diminutive of vinaigre "(aromatic) vinegar" (see vinegar). Modern sense of a type of dressing for salads or cold vegetables is attested from 1877.