The Collaborative International Dictionary
Vinegar \Vin"e*gar\, n. [OE. vinegre, F. vinaigre; vin wine (L. vinum) + aigre sour. See Wine, and Eager, a.]
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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.
Note: The characteristic sourness of vinegar is due to acetic acid, of which it contains from three to five per cent. Wine vinegar contains also tartaric acid, citric acid, etc.
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Hence, anything sour; -- used also metaphorically.
Here's the challenge: . . . I warrant there's vinegar and pepper in't.
--Shak.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 (Zo["o]l.), 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 (Chem.), a fanciful name of an apparatus designed to oxidize alcohol to acetic acid by means of platinum.
Vinegar plant. See 4th Mother.
Vinegar tree (Bot.), the stag-horn sumac ( Rhus typhina), whose acid berries have been used to intensify the sourness of vinegar.
Wood vinegar. See under Wood.