Today's Word

Yesterday's Word

Archives

FAQ

Nov 10, 2005

This week's theme
French terms for food

This week's words
hors d'oeuvre
amuse-bouche
macedoine
vinaigrette
saute

“A word after a word after a word is power.” ~Margaret Atwood
Rush power to your friends & family

---

vinaigrette

noun: A sour, savory sauce of which there are a hundred variations. Its base ingredients are almost always oil and vinegar. The primary use is for salad dressings, but vinaigrettes can also be served on numerous fish, seafood, and even meat dishes.

[A nice double fillip here. The French word vinaigre (vinegar) literally means "sour wine": vin (wine) + aigre (sour). Take this double word and add the diminutive -ette and you get "little vinegar".]

"Salads dazzle, whether colourful, flavour-packed combos such as roasted beet and chickpea with balsamic vinaigrette, or coleslaw teased with a sesame oil dressing."
Tim Pawsey; Healthy, But Tasty, Cuisine at Cafe; Vancouver Courier (Canada); Oct 24, 2005.

See more usage examples of vinaigrette in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

X-Bonus