'Mother of vinegar' definitions:

Definition of 'Mother of vinegar'

From: GCIDE
  • 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. [1913 Webster]
  • 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. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. Hence, anything sour; -- used also metaphorically. [1913 Webster]
  • Here's the challenge: . . . I warrant there's vinegar and pepper in't. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 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. [1913 Webster]