from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Sour \Sour\, a. [Compar. {Sourer}; superl. {Sourest}.] [OE.
sour, sur, AS. s?r; akin to D. zuur, G. sauer, OHG. s?r,
Icel. s?rr, Sw. sur, Dan. suur, Lith. suras salt, Russ.
surovui harsh, rough. Cf. {Sorrel}, the plant.]
1. Having an acid or sharp, biting taste, like vinegar, and
the juices of most unripe fruits; acid; tart.
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All sour things, as vinegar, provoke appetite.
--Bacon.
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2. Changed, as by keeping, so as to be acid, rancid, or
musty, turned.
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3. Disagreeable; unpleasant; hence; cross; crabbed; peevish;
morose; as, a man of a sour temper; a sour reply. "A sour
countenance." --Swift.
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He was a scholar . . .
Lofty and sour to them that loved him not,
But to those men that sought him sweet as summer.
--Shak.
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4. Afflictive; painful. "Sour adversity." --Shak.
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5. Cold and unproductive; as, sour land; a sour marsh.
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{Sour dock} (Bot.), sorrel.
{Sour gourd} (Bot.), the gourdlike fruit {Adansonia
Gregorii}, and {Adansonia digitata}; also, either of the
trees bearing this fruit. See {Adansonia}.
{Sour grapes}. See under {Grape}.
{Sour gum} (Bot.) See {Turelo}.
{Sour plum} (Bot.), the edible acid fruit of an Australian
tree ({Owenia venosa}); also, the tree itself, which
furnished a hard reddish wood used by wheelwrights.
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Syn: Acid; sharp; tart; acetous; acetose; harsh; acrimonious;
crabbed; currish; peevish.
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Tupelo \Tu"pe*lo\, n. [Tupelo, or tupebo, the native American
Indian name.] (Bot.)
A North American tree ({Nyssa multiflora}) of the Dogwood
family, having brilliant, glossy foliage and acid red
berries. The wood is crossgrained and very difficult to
split. Called also {black gum}, {sour gum}, and {pepperidge}.
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{Largo tupelo}, or {Tupelo gum} (Bot.), an American tree
({Nyssa uniflora}) with softer wood than the tupelo.
{Sour tupelo} (Bot.), the Ogeechee lime.
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