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Origin and history of vinegar

vinegar(n.)

diluted impure acetic acid, early 14c., vinegre, usually "wine vinegar," from Anglo-French vinegre, Old French vinaigre "vinegar," from vin "wine" (from Latin vinum; see wine (n.)) + aigre "sour" (see eager). In Latin, it was vinum acetum "wine turned sour," acetum for short (see acetic), also used figuratively for "wit, shrewdness;" and compare Greek oxos "wine vinegar," which is related to oxys "sharp" (from PIE root *ak- "be sharp, rise (out) to a point, pierce"). Related: Vinegary; vinegarish.

also from early 14c.

Entries linking to vinegar

acetic(adj.)

1808 (in acetic acid), from French acétique "pertaining to vinegar, sour, having the properties of vinegar," from Latin acetum "vinegar" (properly vinum acetum "wine turned sour;" see vinegar), originally the past participle of acere "be sharp; be sour" (related to acer "sharp," from PIE root *ak- "be sharp, rise (out) to a point, pierce").

eager(adj.)

late 13c., "strenuous, ardent, fierce, angry," from Old French aigre "sour, acid; harsh, bitter, rough; eager greedy; lively, active, forceful," from Vulgar Latin *acrus (source also of Italian agro, Spanish agrio), from Latin acer "keen, sharp, pointed, piercing; acute, ardent, zealous" (from PIE root *ak- "be sharp, rise (out) to a point, pierce").

The meaning "full of keen desire" (early 14c.) seems peculiar to English. Into 19c. the word kept a secondary meaning of "pungent, sharp-edged" (as in Shakespeare's "The bitter clamour of two eager tongues," in "Richard II"). Related: Eagerly; eagerness. Eager beaver "glutton for work" [OED, 1989] is from 1943, U.S. armed forces slang.

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wine
Old English win "wine," from Proto-Germanic *winam (source also of Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Old High German win, Old Norse vin, Dutch wijn, German Wein), an early borrowing from Latin vinum "wine," from PIE *uoin-a-, related to words for "wine" in other southern European languages
ester
compound formed by an acid joined to an alcohol, 1852, coined in German in 1848 by German chemist Leopold Gmelin (1788-1853), professor at Heidelberg. The name is "apparently a pure invention" [Flood], perhaps a contraction of or abstraction from Essigäther, the German name for e
marinade
"a pickle for fish or meat, generally of wine and vinegar with herbs and spices," 1704, from French marinade "spiced vinegar...
prairie-oyster
"salted and peppered raw egg, drunk in booze or vinegar," by 1878, American English, from prairie + oyster (in reference...Into a wine glass pat a new-laid egg ; add half a tea-spoonful of vinegar, dropping it gently down on the inside of the glass...the size of a threepenny-piece; pepper according to taste, The way to take this should be by placing the glass with the vinegar...The vinegar being the last gives it more of an oyster-like flavour....
tarragon
Its aromatic leaves long have been used for flavoring (especially vinegar)....
gallimaufry
"hash, ragout, dish made of odds and ends," from Old French galimafree, calimafree "sauce made of mustard, ginger, and vinegar...
condiment
condiment (13c.), from Latin condimentum "spice, seasoning, sauce," from condire "to preserve, pickle, season, put fruit in vinegar...
gorgeous
c. 1500, "splendid, showy, sumptuously adorned" (of clothing), from French gorgias "elegant, fashionable," a word of unknown origin; perhaps a special use of gorgias "necklace" (and thus "fond of or resembling jewelry"), from Old French gorge "throat," also "something adorning th
certain
c. 1300, "determined, fixed," from Old French certain "reliable, sure, assured" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *certanus, extended form of Latin certus "determined, resolved, fixed, settled," of things whose qualities are invariable, "established," also "placed beyond doubt, sure, tru
beer
alcoholic drink made from grain (generally barley), infused with hops and boiled and fermented, Middle English ber, from Old English beor "strong drink, beer, mead," cognate with Old Frisian biar, Middle Dutch and Dutch bier, Old High German bior, German Bier; a West Germanic wor

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