tincture
To colour or stain with, or as if with, a dye or pigmentTo colour or stain (something) with, or as if with, a dye or pigment.
» There was never a genius without a tincture of madness.
Meaning
4 senses(transitive)To colour or stain (something) with, or as if with, a dye or pigment.
(figuratively, transitive)Followed by with: to add to or impregnate (something) with (a slight amount of) an abstract or (obsolete) physical quality; to imbue, to taint, to tinge.
stain or tinge with a slight amount of a color
(transitive)To dissolve (a substance) in ethanol or some other solvent to produce a medicinal tincture.
(intransitive, rare)To have a taint or tinge of some quality.
fill, as with a certain quality
Examples
2 sentencesThere was never a genius without a tincture of madness.
Tom made me a tincture to help with my anxiety.
Translations
1 languagesOrigin
The noun is derived from Late Middle English tincture (“a dye, pigment; a colour, hue, tinThe noun is derived from Late Middle English tincture (“a dye, pigment; a colour, hue, tint; process of colouring or dyeing; medicinal ointment or salve (perhaps one discolouring the skin); use of a medicinal tincture; (alchemy) transmutation of base metals into gold; ability to cause such transmutation; substance supposed to cause such transmutation”) [and other forms], borrowed from Latin tīnctūra (“act of dyeing”) + Middle English -ure (suffix indicating an action or a process and the means or result of that action or process). Tīnctūra is derived from tīnctus (“coloured, tinged; dipped in; impregnated with; treated”) + -tūra (suffix forming action nouns expressing activities or results); while tīnctus is the perfect passive participle of tingō (“to colour, dye, tinge; to dip (in), immerse; to impregnate (with); to moisten, wet; to smear”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *teng- (“to dip; to soak”). Doublet of tainture, teinture, and tinctura.
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Forms
tinctures, tincturing, tinctured, tincturedSynonyms
3 synonyms- fill, as with a certain quality:impregnateinfuseinstill
Word family
4 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle