vinegar

[vin-i-ger]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR vinegar ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a sour liquid consisting of dilute and impure acetic acid, obtained by acetous fermentation from wine, cider, beer, ale, or the like: used as a condiment, preservative, etc.

Pharmacology. a solution of a medicinal substance in dilute acetic acid, or vinegar.

sour or irritable speech, manner, or countenance: a note of vinegar in his voice.

Informal. vigor; high spirits; vim.

Origin of vinegar

1250–1300; Middle English vinegre < Old French, equivalent to vin wine + egre, aigre sour (see eager¹)

Related formsvin·e·gar·like, adjective

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

Related Words for vinegar

marinade, saline, blue, drink, deep, ocean, alkali, preservative, chemical, salt, alcohol, formaldehyde, saltpeter, vigor, strength, force, zeal, energy, pep, drive

Examples from the Web for vinegar

Contemporary Examples of vinegar

Caligula drank “pearls of great price dissolved in vinegar.”
An Ivy League Frat Boy’s Shallow Repentance
Stefan Beck
November 24, 2014
After a year, they would be washed with vinegar, dressed, and displayed.
Palermo Has an Underground City Filled With Its Mummified Dead
Nina Strochlic
May 1, 2014
Women would first bathe their feet in a mixture of vinegar and natural vegetation.
Corsets, Muslin Disease, and More of the Deadly Fashion Trends
The Fashion Beast Team
April 1, 2014
But the best way to serve cabbage is to chop it and season it with vinegar and salt.
Diet Like Jesus: What the Bible Says About How to Eat
Candida Moss
October 15, 2013
Add the vinegar, bring to a simmer, then stir in the chicken stock.
Daniel Boulud Reveals His 4 Favorite Recipes From His New Cookbook
Daniel Boulud
October 15, 2013

Historical Examples of vinegar

Heat the vinegar, and to it add the salt, sugar, and spices.
Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 5
Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences
Season with salt, pepper, and the juice of the lemon or the vinegar.
Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 3
Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences
Measure the vinegar and oil and add them to the dry ingredients.
Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 4
Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences
There he lay like a log, and all my efforts with vinegar and water had no visible effect.
Ned Myers
James Fenimore Cooper
When you take the chitterlings on your plate season them with pepper and vinegar.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie

British Dictionary definitions for vinegar

vinegar

noun

a sour-tasting liquid consisting of impure dilute acetic acid, made by oxidation of the ethyl alcohol in beer, wine, or cider. It is used as a condiment or preservative

sourness or peevishness of temper, countenance, speech, etc

pharmacol a medicinal solution in dilute acetic acid

US and Canadian informal vitality

verb

(tr) to apply vinegar to

Derived Formsvinegarish, adjectivevinegar-like, adjective

Word Origin for vinegar

C13: from Old French vinaigre, from vin wine + aigre sour, from Latin acer sharp

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 vinegar

c.1300, from Old French vinaigre, from vin "wine" (from Latin vinum; see wine) + aigre "sour" (see eager). In Latin, it was vinum acetum "wine turned sour;" cf. also Greek oxos "wine vinegar," which is related to oxys "sharp" (see acrid).

vinegar in Medicine

vinegar

[vĭn′ĭ-gər]

n.

An impure dilute solution of acetic acid obtained by fermentation beyond the alcohol stage and used as a preservative.