sour

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈsaʊ.ə/ (UK); /ˈsaʊ.ɚ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English sour, inherited from Old English sūr (“sharp, acid, fermented”),^[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *sūraz,^[2][4] cognate with Middle Dutch suur, Old High German sūr (modern sauer) and Old Norse súrr.^[2][3][4] Outside Germanic it is related to Lithuanian sūras (“salty”) and Old Church Slavonic сыръ (syrŭ, “moist, raw”),^[2][5][3] from Proto-Indo-European *suHrós (“sour, salty, bitter”).^[3] French sur (“sour, tart”) is a Germanic loan.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Having a tart or acid taste: about 1000 in the OED and Barnhart.^[6][2]

Semantic evolution

Bitter or extremely distasteful is from the 12th century,^[4] and harsh of temper, peevish, from the early 13th.^[3][4] Fermented, made acid by fermentation, is also Old English,^[6] with to go sour figuratively from before 1340.^[6] Land that is cold and wet is called sour from 1532.^[6] The verb is from about 1300,^[3][2] and the drink sense, as in whisky sour, is American from 1862.^[2][3] Sour grapes, disparaging what one cannot have, from Aesop's fable of the fox, is by 1836;^[3] sour cream is from 1855, sourball from 1900 and sourpuss from 1937.^[3][2]

Timeline

• c. 1000 – sūr, acid in taste.^[6][2]
• early 13th century – peevish.^[3]
• c. 1300 – to sour (verb).^[3]
• 1836 – sour grapes.^[3]
• 1862 – a sour (drink).^[2][3]
• 1937 – sourpuss.^[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Having a sharp, acid taste like lemon juice or vinegar; tart.
2. Made acid or bad by fermentation: sour milk.
3. Bad-tempered, sullen or morose.
4. Unpleasant or disappointing: the deal went sour.

Verb

1. To make or become sour.
2. To make or become unfriendly or disillusioned.

Noun

1. A mixed drink made with spirits, lemon or lime juice and sugar: a whisky sour.

Word family

• sourish
• sourly
• sourness
• oversour
• sourball
• sourberry
• sourdough

Related words

• sorrel
• sauerkraut

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press