Sour Meaning

/ˈsaʊ.ə/
B1

Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

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adjTasting of acidity.

adjMade rancid by fermentation, etc.

Milk easily turns sour.
The milk turned sour.
If you add lemon, it will become sour.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The homemade lemonade tasted extremely ____ due to the extra lemon juice added.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The lemon had a very ____ taste that made everyone pucker their lips when they tried a slice.

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *súHros Proto-Germanic *sūraz Proto-West Germanic *sūr Old English sūr Middle English sour English sour From Middle English sour, from Old English sūr (“sour”), from Proto-West Germanic *sūr, from Proto-Germanic *sūraz (“sour”), from Proto-Indo-European *súHros (“sour”). Cognate with West Frisian soer, Dutch zuur (“sour”), Low German suur, German sauer (“sour”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish sur (“sour”), French sur (“sour”), Faroese súrur (“sour”), Icelandic súr (“sour, bitter”), Polish ser (“cheese”), Czech sýr (“cheese”), Slovak syr (“cheese”), Russian сырой (syroj, “raw”), Ukrainian сири́й (syrýj, “raw”), Old Church Slavonic сꙑръ (syrŭ, “moist, cheese”).

"All sour things, as vinegar, provoke appetite." — 1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:
"A few types of molecules get sensed by receptors on the tongue. Protons coming off of acids ping receptors for "sour." Sugars get received as "sweet." Bitter, salty, and the proteinaceous flavor umami all set off their own neural cascades." — 2018 May 16, Adam Rogers, “The Fundamental Nihilism of Yanny vs. Laurel”, in Wired:
"He was a scholar […] / Lofty and sour to them that loved him not, / But to those men that sought him sweet as summer." — c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:
"Let me embrace thee, sour adversity" — 1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]:
"The result may not quite give the Wearsiders a sweet ending to what has been a sour week, following allegations of sexual assault and drug possession against defender Titus Bramble, but it does at least demonstrate that their spirit remains strong in the face of adversity." — 2011 October 1, Phil Dawkes, “Sunderland 2 - 2 West Brom”, in BBC Sport:

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CEFR Practice Quiz
The homemade lemonade tasted extremely ____ due to the extra lemon juice added.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The lemon had a very ____ taste that made everyone pucker their lips when they tried a slice.

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