Vinegar

vinegar
    n 1: sour-tasting liquid produced usually by oxidation of the
         alcohol in wine or cider and used as a condiment or food
         preservative [syn: {vinegar}, {acetum}]
    2: dilute acetic acid
    

Vinegar \Vin"e*gar\, n. [OE. vinegre, F. vinaigre; vin wine (L.
   vinum) + aigre sour. See {Wine}, and {Eager}, a.]
   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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   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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   2. Hence, anything sour; -- used also metaphorically.
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            Here's the challenge: . . . I warrant there's
            vinegar and pepper in't.              --Shak.
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   {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} (Zool.), 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}.
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Vinegar \Vin"e*gar\, v. t.
   To convert into vinegar; to make like vinegar; to render sour
   or sharp. [Obs.]
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         Hoping that he hath vinegared his senses
         As he was bid.                           --B. Jonson.
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Vinegar
Heb. hometz, Gr. oxos, Fr. vin aigre; i.e., "sour wine." The
Hebrew word is rendered vinegar in Ps. 69:21, a prophecy
fulfilled in the history of the crucifixion (Matt. 27:34). This
was the common sour wine (posea) daily made use of by the Roman
soldiers. They gave it to Christ, not in derision, but from
compassion, to assuage his thirst. Prov. 10:26 shows that there
was also a stronger vinegar, which was not fit for drinking. The
comparison, "vinegar upon nitre," probably means "vinegar upon
soda" (as in the marg. of the R.V.), which then effervesces.
    

24 Moby Thesaurus words for "vinegar":
      acid, acidulant, bread-and-butter pickle, brine, chokecherry,
      crab apple, dill pickle, embalming fluid, formaldehyde,
      green apple, lemon, lime, pickle, preservative,
      preservative medium, salt, sour, sour balls, sour cream,
      sour grapes, sour pickle, sourdough, verjuice, yogurt