tincture

Noun · Verb
US[tingk-cher]/ˈtɪŋktʃɚ/2 syllables
Synonyms: tracevestigeshadowshadetinttoneimpregnateinfuseinstill

Open English WordNet

Noun (4)

  1. a substance that colors or dyesType of coloring material, colouring materialKinds argent
  2. an indication that something has been present“there wasn't a trace of evidence for the claim”“a tincture of condescension”Synonyms: tracevestigeshadowType of indication, indicantKinds footprint
  3. a quality of a given color that differs slightly from another color“after several trials he mixed the shade of pink that she wanted”Synonyms: shadetinttoneType of color, colourKinds mellowness, undertone, richness
  4. (pharmacology) a medicine consisting of an extract in an alcohol solutionType of medicine, medicationKinds guaiac tincture, tincture of iodine, arnica

Verb (2)tinctured, tincturing

  1. fill, as with a certain quality“The heavy traffic tinctures the air with carbon monoxide”Synonyms: impregnateinfuseinstillMore general fill, fill up
  2. stain or tinge with a slight amount of a color“The sky was tinctured red”More general tint, tinct

Related words tinct verb, tinge verb, tint noun

Word of the day · Oct 11About this word
expediteverb

What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz

Advertisement

Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Tinc′ture noun

Origin: L. tinctura a dyeing, from tingere, tinctum, to tinge, dye: cf. OE. tainture, teinture, F. teinture, L. tinctura. See Tinge.

1. A tinge or shade of color; a tint; as, a tincture of red.

2. Heraldry One of the metals, colors, or furs used in armory.

☞ There are two metals: gold, called or, and represented in engraving by a white surface covered with small dots; and silver, called argent, and represented by a plain white surface. The colors and their representations are as follows: red, called gules, or a shading of vertical lines; blue, called azure, or horizontal lines; black, called sable, or horizontal and vertical lines crossing; green, called vert, or diagonal lines from dexter chief corner; purple, called purpure, or diagonal lines from sinister chief corner. The furs are ermine, ermines, erminois, pean, vair, counter vair, potent, and counter potent. See Illustration in Appendix.

3. The finer and more volatile parts of a substance, separated by a solvent; an extract of a part of the substance of a body communicated to the solvent.

4. Medicine A solution (commonly colored) of medicinal substance in alcohol, usually more or less diluted; spirit containing medicinal substances in solution.

☞ According to the United States Pharmacopoeia, the term tincture (also called alcoholic tincture, and spirituous tincture) is reserved for the alcoholic solutions of nonvolatile substances, alcoholic solutions of volatile substances being called spirits.

Ethereal tincture, a solution of medicinal substance in ether.

5. A slight taste superadded to any substance; as, a tincture of orange peel.

6. A slight quality added to anything; a tinge; as, a tincture of French manners.

All manners take a tincture from our own.— Alexander Pope
Every man had a slight tincture of soldiership, and scarcely any man more than a slight tincture.— Thomas Babington Macaulay
Tinc′ture transitive verb [past tense & past participle Tinctured; present participle & verbal noun Tincturing.]

1. To communicate a slight foreign color to; to tinge; to impregnate with some extraneous matter.

A little black paint will tincture and spoil twenty gay colors.— Isaac Watts

2. To imbue the mind of; to communicate a portion of anything foreign to; to tinge.

The stain of habitual sin may thoroughly tincture all our soul.— Isaac Barrow

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

Advertisement