Essil

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic word for vinegar, the sharp sour liquid made by fermenting wine, cider or ale
2. Old English term for the sour liquid produced when wine or beer turns acidic through fermentation
3. A obsolete name for vinegar, the tart acetic liquid used in cooking and pickling

Etymology: "Essil" is an archaic English word for vinegar, and its history runs through French back to Latin. It was borrowed from Old French "aisil" or "vinaigre"-related forms in the sense of sour wine, and the Old French term descends from Latin "acetum", meaning vinegar, which came from "acere", to be sour. The same Latin root gives English "acetic" and "acid", so "essil" is a close cousin of words for sourness in chemistry. The Old French source was "aisil", which itself came from "acetum" by way of a regular sound change in which the initial "a" and the "c" shifted. English took the term in the medieval period, and it was used for centuries in cookery and medicine before "vinegar" largely displaced it. The form "vinegar" itself comes from Old French "vyn egre", meaning "sour wine", so the two common English words for the same liquid were built on the same idea of wine gone sour.