aigre

English

Etymology

French. See eager.

Adjective

aigre (comparative more aigre, superlative most aigre)

1. (obsolete) Alternative spelling of eager (“sour”)

Related terms

• vinegar

Anagrams

• Aegir, Argie, Gaier, aegir, aiger

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French aigre, from Vulgar Latin ācrus (possibly via a southern Gallo-Romance dialect), from Latin ācer (with a change in declension), from Proto-Italic *akris, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ḱrós (“sharp”). Doublet of âcre, which was borrowed from Latin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛɡʁ/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

aigre (plural aigres)

1. sharp, sour, acid

   Synonym: acide

   cerises aigres

   sour cherries

2. shrill (voice); biting (wind etc.)

   la voix aigre des cornemuses

   the shrill voice of the bagpipes

   • 2007, Georges Chétochine, La vérité sur les gestes, page 169:

     Le ton de sa voix un peu aigre et nasillard est parfaitement synchronisé avec son regard langoureux, humain.

     The sound of his voice, a little shrill and nasal, is perfectly synchronised with his languid, human look.

Derived terms

• aigreur
• aigrir

Related terms

• vinaigre

Further reading

• “aigre”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• gérai
• réagi

Old French

Etymology

From Late Latin ācrus, from Latin ācer (with a change in declension), from Proto-Italic *akris, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ḱrós (“sharp”). The unexpected /ɡ/ may point to this form being borrowed from southern Gallo-Romance dialects. Cf. the variant aire, which shows the phonologically regular outcome for Old French.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (early) /ˈai̯ɡɾə/
• IPA^(key): (late) /ˈɛɡɾə/

Adjective

aigre m (oblique and nominative feminine singular aigre)

1. sharp, sour, acid

Descendants

• French: aigre
• → Middle English: egre, eger, egyr, egir, egur, egree
  • English: eager
  • Scots: eager
  • Yola: aagar
• ⇒ vinaigre
  • French: vinaigre
  • → Middle English: vynegre, fynegre, wyne-egre, vyneger, wynyger, venegre, vinegre, wyneger, vynagre, vinagir, vineger
    • English: vinegar
      • → Japanese: ビネガー (binegā)
      • → Welsh: finegr
    • Scots: veenegar
  • → Middle Irish: fínégra
    • Irish: fínéagar

References

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (aigre)
• "egre." Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2 Online Edition), Aberystwyth University, 2021. Web. 5 April 2021. https://anglo-norman.net/entry/egre.