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You are here: Home / Language / Where does the word “vinegar” come from and What does vinegar mean in French?

Where does the word “vinegar” come from and What does vinegar mean in French?

March 31, 2020 by Karen Hill

In times past, the only source of vinegar generally known was wine that, on turning, became sharp and acrid to the taste.

And it is precisely this that is shown by the name, for it comes from the Old French vyn egre (which led to the modern French vinaigre).

Vyn, or yin, comes from the Latin vinum, “wine,” and egre, or aigre, is from the Latin acer, “sharp, pungent.”

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Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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