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:
1 more example
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:
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Made rancid by fermentation, etc.
Don't drink that milk; it's turned sour.
3
Tasting or smelling rancid.
His sour breath makes it unpleasing to talk to him.
4
Of a person's character Hostile or unfriendly.
He gave me a sour look.
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]:
5
Excessively acidic and thus infertile. (of soil)
sour land
a sour marsh
6
Containing excess sulfur. (of petroleum)
sour gas smells like rotten eggs
7
Unfortunate or unfavorable.
Let me embrace thee, sour adversity1613 (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:
Unlike what the name implies, there is nothing inherently wrong with a sour note: It is perfectly well-tuned note that would sound normal in another context (and which presumably would not sound sour to someone unfamiliar with tonal music).2010, Aniruddh D. Patel, Music, Language, and the Brain, page 201:
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”).
1
The sensation of a sour taste.
2
A drink made with whiskey, lemon or lime juice and sugar.
3
Broadly Any cocktail containing lemon or lime juice.
4
A sweet/candy having a sharply sour taste.
“You know I like them candies, especially the lemon sours.”2022, Michael N. Riley, ARCH BOOK I, page 78:
5
A sour or acid substance; whatever produces a painful effect.
For many Years of Sorrow can dispense; A Dram of Sweet is worth a Pound of Sour1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto III”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
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”).
So the sun's heat, with different powers, / Ripens the grape, the liquor sours.1720, Jonathan Swift, To Stella, on transcribing my Poems:
3
To spoil or mar; to make disenchanted.
To sour your happiness I must report, / The queen is dead.1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene v]:
He was prudent and industrious, and so good a husbandman, that he might have led a very easy and comfortable life, had not an arrant vixen of a wife soured his domestic quiet.1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:
4
To become disenchanted.
We broke up after our relationship soured.
5
To make (soil) cold and unproductive.
stagnant water , which tends to sour the soil1832, Joseph Harrison, Sir Joseph Paxton, The Horticultural Register, page 396:
6
To macerate (lime) and render it fit for plaster or mortar.
7
To process (fabric) after bleaching, using hydrochloric acid or sulphuric acid to wash out the lime.