01 n. A sour liquid used as a condiment, or as a preservative, and obtained by the spontaneous (acetous) fermentation, or by the artificial oxida…
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1.
A sour liquid used as a condiment, or as a preservative, and obtained by the spontaneous (acetous) fermentation, or by the artificial oxidation, of wine, cider, beer, or the like.
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2.
Hence, anything sour; -- used also metaphorically.“Here's the challenge: . . . I warrant there's vinegar and pepper in't.” — Shak.
Phrases & compounds
Aromatic vinegar —
strong acetic acid highly flavored with aromatic substances.
Mother of vinegar —
See 4th Mother.
Radical vinegar —
acetic acid.
Thieves' vinegar —
See under Thief.
Vinegar eel —
a minute nematode worm (Leptodera oxophila, or Anguillula acetiglutinis), commonly found in great numbers in vinegar, sour paste, and other fermenting vegetable substances; -- called also vinegar worm.
Vinegar lamp —
a fanciful name of an apparatus designed to oxidize alcohol to acetic acid by means of platinum.
Vinegar plant —
See 4th Mother.
Vinegar tree —
the stag-horn sumac (Rhus typhina), whose acid berries have been used to intensify the sourness of vinegar.
Wood vinegar —
See under Wood.