sour

sour [sour]

adj.

[ME soure < OE sur, akin to Ger sauer, ON sūrr < IE * suro-, sour, salty > Latvian sũrs, salty, bitter]

1. having the sharp, acid taste of lemon juice, vinegar, green fruit, etc.

2. made acid or rank by or as by fermentation [sour milk]

3.

a) cross, bad-tempered, peevish, morose, etc. [a sour mood]

b) ill-disposed and bitter [sour toward former associates]

4. below what is usual or normal; poor; bad [his game has gone sour]

5. distasteful or unpleasant

6. gratingly wrong or off pitch [a sour note]

7. excessively acid: said of soil

8. tainted with sulfur compounds: said of gasoline, etc.

n.

1. that which is sour; something sour

☆ 2. a cocktail made with lemon or lime juice, sugar, and, usually, soda water [a whiskey sour]

vt., vi.

to make or become sour [the milk will sour, soured on life]

sourly

adv.

sourness

n.

SYN.- SOUR usually implies an unpleasant sharpness of taste and often connotes fermentation or rancidity [sour milk ]; ACID suggests a sourness that is normal or natural [a lemon is an acid fruit ]; ACIDULOUS suggests a slightly sour or acid quality [acidulous spring water ]; TART¹ suggests a slightly stinging sharpness or sourness and usually connotes that this is pleasant to the taste [a tart cherry pie ] -ANT. SWEET