sourness

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *súHros

Proto-Germanic *sūraz

Proto-West Germanic *sūr

Old English sūr

Proto-Germanic *-in-

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ti

Proto-Germanic *-ōną

Proto-Germanic *-inōną

Proto-Indo-European *-dyé-

Proto-Germanic *-atjaną

Proto-Indo-European *-tus

Proto-Germanic *-þuz

Proto-Germanic *-assuz

Proto-Germanic *-inassuz

Proto-West Germanic *-nassī

Old English -nes

Old English sūrnes?

Middle English sournesse

English sourness

From Middle English sournesse, sournes, from Old English sūrnes (“sourness”), equivalent to sour +‎ -ness.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsaʊ.ənəs/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsaʊ.ɚnəs/

Noun

sourness (countable and uncountable, plural sournesses)

1. The condition or quality of being sour.
   • 1603–1604 (date written), [George Chapman], Bussy D’Ambois: A Tragedie: […], London: […] [Eliot’s Court Press] for William Aspley, published 1607, →OCLC, Act I, page 1:

     [O]ur Tympanouſe ſtatiſts / (In their affected grauitie of voice, / Sovverneſſe of countenance, maners crueltie, / Authoritie, vvealth, and all the ſpavvne of Fortune) / Thinke they beare all the kingdomes vvorth before them; […]

   • 1811, [Jane Austen], chapter XII, in Sense and Sensibility […], volume II, London: […] C[harles] Roworth, […], and published by T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 226:

     Mrs. Ferrars was a little, thin woman, upright, even to formality, in her figure, and serious, even to sourness, in her aspect.

Usage notes

• Often used figuratively to refer to a person’s temperament.

Translations

condition or quality of being sour

• Amharic: ጐምዛዛነት (gʷämzazanät)
• Catalan: agror (ca) f, acidesa (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 酸味 (zh) (suānwèi)

• Dutch: zerpte f, zuurte (nl) f
• Finnish: happamuus (fi)
• Georgian: სიმჟავე (simžave)
• Greek: αγουράδα (el) f (agouráda), αγουρίλα (el) f (agouríla), ξινίλα (el) f (xiníla)

  Ancient Greek: στρυφνότης f (struphnótēs)

• Hebrew: חֲמִיצוּת (he) f (khamitsút)
• Ilocano: alsem
• Japanese: 酸味 (ja) (さんみ, sanmi)
• Korean: 신맛 (ko) (sinmat), 산미(酸味) (sanmi)
• Latin: aciditas f, acor m
• Middle English: egrenesse, sournesse
• Old English: sūrnes f
• Spanish: acedía (es) f, acidez (es) f
• Tagalog: asim (tl), kaasiman, pagkaasim
• Turkish: ekşilik (tr)

  Ottoman Turkish: اكشیلك (ekşilik)

of a person’s temperament

• Greek: δυστροπία (el) f (dystropía), στρυφνότητα (el) f (stryfnótita)
• Middle English: sournesse
• Spanish: acidez (es) f, acritud (es) f

Anagrams

• sunroses