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tincture

Etymology and origin of the English word tincture

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈtɪŋ(k)tʃə/, /ˈtɪŋktjʊə/ (UK); /ˈtɪŋ(k)t͡ʃɚ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English tincture,[2][3] borrowed from Latin tīnctūra (“a dyeing”),[2][4][5][3][6] from tīnctus, past participle of tingere “to dye, tinge”,[2][4][5][3][6] originally “to moisten, soak”.[5] It is related to tint, tinge and taint.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

A colouring matter, dye or pigment (c. 1400).[7][4][5]

Semantic evolution

Also from about 1400 the word was used of medicinal preparations,[5] and from the 1640s specifically of a medicine dissolved in alcohol.[5][4] It came to mean a hue or colour imparted (1477), and in heraldry any of the metals, colours and furs used in coats of arms (1610).[7] The figurative sense, an imparted quality or a slight trace of something, as in a tincture of irony, dates from the late 16th and early 17th centuries.[7][5] The verb, “to tinge, to imbue”, is from 1616.[7][4][3]

Timeline

  • c. 1400 – a dye or pigment.[7][4]
  • 1477 – a hue or colour.[7]
  • 1590 – figuratively, an imparted quality.[7]
  • 1610 – in heraldry, a metal, colour or fur.[7]
  • 1616 – verb, to tinge.[7][4][3]
  • 1640s – a medicine dissolved in alcohol.[5][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A solution of a medicine in alcohol.
  2. A slight trace or admixture; a tinge, as in a tincture of doubt.
  3. A quality that colours or pervades something.
  4. (heraldry) Any of the metals, colours or furs used in coats of arms.
  5. (archaic) A dye or pigment; a colour or tint.

Verb

  1. To tint or stain with colour.
  2. To imbue with a quality, as in writing tinctured with wit.
  • taint
  • tinct
  • tinctorial
  • tint
  • tinge
  • stain

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Tincture.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/tincture. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·