Acetum
/ˈa.kɛ.tum/noun
Vinegar; sour wine or a vinegar-like acidic liquid.
Did you know?Acetum is the Latin source of English *acid*, because the Romans connected vinegar’s sharp taste with sourness so strongly that the same root spread into the language of chemistry.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₂eḱ-
“To be sharp, pointed, pungent”
Latin
Latin
acer
“Sharp, pungent, bitter”
Latin
Latin
acetum
“Vinegar; sour wine”
Late Latin
Latin
acidus
“Sour, sharp-tasting”
Old French
OF
acide
“Sour; acidic”
Modern English
English
acid
“A substance with sour taste and characteristic chemical properties”