having an acid taste, resembling that of vinegar, lemon juice, etc.; tart.
2.
rendered acid or affected by fermentation; fermented.
3.
producing the one of the four basic taste sensations that is not bitter, salt, or sweet.
4.
characteristic of something fermented: a sour smell.
5.
distasteful or disagreeable; unpleasant.
6.
below standard; poor.
7.
harsh in spirit or temper; austere; morose; peevish.
8.
Agriculture. (of soil) having excessive acidity.
9.
(of gasoline or the like) contaminated by sulfur compounds.
10.
Music. off-pitch; badly produced: a sour note.
–noun
11.
something that is sour.
12.
any of various cocktails consisting typically of whiskey or gin with lemon or lime juice and sugar and sometimes soda water, often garnished with a slice of orange, a maraschino cherry, or both.
13.
an acid or an acidic substance used in laundering and bleaching to neutralize alkalis and to decompose residual soap or bleach.
–verb (used without object)
14.
to become sour, rancid, mildewed, etc.; spoil: Milk sours quickly in warm weather. The laundry soured before it was ironed.
15.
to become unpleasant or strained; worsen; deteriorate: Relations between the two countries have soured.
16.
to become bitter, disillusioned, or disinterested: I guess I soured when I learned he was married. My loyalty soured after his last book.
17.
Agriculture. (of soil) to develop excessive acidity.
–verb (used with object)
18.
to make sour; cause sourness in: What do they use to sour the mash?
19.
to cause spoilage in; rot: Defective cartons soured the apples.
20.
to make bitter, disillusioned, or disagreeable: One misadventure needn't have soured him. That swindle soured a great many potential investors.
[Origin: bef. 1000; (adj. and n.) ME sure, soure, OE sūr (orig. adj.); c. G sauer, D zuur, ON sūrr; (v.) ME souren, deriv. of the adj.]
Having a taste characteristic of that produced by acids; sharp, tart, or tangy.
Made acid or rancid by fermentation.
Having the characteristics of fermentation or rancidity; tasting or smelling of decay.
Bad-tempered and morose; peevish: a sour temper.
Displeased with something one formerly admired or liked; disenchanted: sour on ballet.
Not measuring up to the expected or usual ability or quality; bad.
Not having the correct or properly produced pitch: a sour note.
Not measuring up to the expected or usual ability or quality; bad.
Not having the correct or properly produced pitch: a sour note.
Of or relating to excessively acid soil that is damaging to crops.
Containing excessive sulfur compounds. Used of gasoline.
n.
The sensation of sour taste, one of the four primary tastes.
Something sour.
A mixed drink made especially with whiskey, lemon or lime juice, sugar, and sometimes soda water.
tr. & intr.v.
soured, sour·ing, sours
To make or become sour.
To make or become disagreeable, disillusioned, or disenchanted.
[Middle English, from Old English sūr.]
sour'ish adj., sour'ly adv., sour'ness n.
Synonyms: These adjectives mean having a taste like that produced by an acid: sour cider; acid, unripe grapes; an acidulous tomato; dry white wine; tart cherries.
O.E. sur, from P.Gmc. *suraz (cf. O.N. surr, M.Du. suur, Du. zuur, O.H.G. sur, Ger. Sauer), from PIE base *suro- "sour, salty, bitter" (cf. O.C.S. syru, Rus. syroi "moist, raw;" Lith. suras "salty," suris "cheese"). Fr. sur "sour, tart" (12c.) is a Gmc. loan-word. The verb is attested from c.1300. Sense in whisky sour is from 1885. Sourpuss first attested 1937. Sourball is from 1900 as "constantly grumbling person," 1933 as a type of candy. Sour cream is attested from 1855.
inaccurate in pitch; "a false (or sour) note"; "her singing was off key" [syn: false]
6.
showing a brooding ill humor; "a dark scowl"; "the proverbially dour New England Puritan"; "a glum, hopeless shrug"; "he sat in moody silence"; "a morose and unsociable manner"; "a saturnine, almost misanthropic young genius"- Bruce Bliven; "a sour temper"; "a sullen crowd" [syn: dark]
noun
1.
a cocktail made of a liquor (especially whiskey or gin) mixed with lemon or lime juice and sugar
2.
the taste experience when vinegar or lemon juice is taken into the mouth
Sour Lake, TX (city, FIPS 68828) Location: 30.13601 N, 94.40393 W Population (1990): 1547 (689 housing units) Area: 4.3 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 77659
Sor"rel\, n. [F. surelle, fr. sur sour, fr. OHG. s?r sour. See Sour.] (Bot.) One of various plants having a sour juice; especially, a plant of the genus Rumex, as Rumex Acetosa, Rumex Acetosella, etc. Mountain sorrel. (Bot.) See under Mountain. Red sorrel. (Bot.) (a) A malvaceous plant (Hibiscus Sabdariffa) whose acid calyxes and capsules are used in the West Indies for making tarts and acid drinks. (b) A troublesome weed (Rumex Acetosella), also called sheep sorrel. Salt of sorrel (Chem.), binoxalate of potassa; -- so called because obtained from the juice of Rumex Acetosella, or Rumex Axetosa. Sorrel tree (Bot.), a small ericaceous tree (Oxydendrum arboreum) whose leaves resemble those of the peach and have a sour taste. It is common along the Alleghanies. Called also sourwood. Wood sorrel (Bot.), any plant of the genus Oxalis.
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. All sour things, as vinegar, provoke appetite. --Bacon. 2. Changed, as by keeping, so as to be acid, rancid, or musty, turned. 3. Disagreeable; unpleasant; hence; cross; crabbed; peevish; morose; as, a man of a sour temper; a sour reply. "A sour countenance." --Swift. He was a scholar . . . Lofty and sour to them that loved him not, But to those men that sought him sweet as summer. --Shak. 4. Afflictive; painful. "Sour adversity." --Shak. 5. Cold and unproductive; as, sour land; a sour marsh. Sour dock (Bot.), sorrel. Sour gourd (Bot.), the gourdlike fruit Adansonia Gregorii, and A. 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. Syn: Acid; sharp; tart; acetous; acetose; harsh; acrimonious; crabbed; currish; peevish.
Sour\, v. t. [AS. s?rian to sour, to become sour.]1. To cause to become sour; to cause to turn from sweet to sour; as, exposure to the air sours many substances. So the sun's heat, with different powers, Ripens the grape, the liquor sours. --Swift. 2. To make cold and unproductive, as soil. --Mortimer. 3. To make unhappy, uneasy, or less agreeable. To sour your happiness I must report, The queen is dead. --Shak. 4. To cause or permit to become harsh or unkindly. "Souring his cheeks." --Shak. Pride had not sour'd nor wrath debased my heart. --Harte. 5. To macerate, and render fit for plaster or mortar; as, to sour lime for business purposes.
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