sauce
/sɔːs/ noun, verb
Forms sauces saucing sauced sawce
- noun A liquid (often thickened) condiment or accompaniment to food. “apple sauce; mint sauce”
- noun (UK, Australia, New Zealand, India) Tomato sauce (similar to US tomato ketchup), as in:
- noun (slang, usually “the”) Alcohol, booze. “Maybe you should lay off the sauce.”
- noun (slang, usually “the”) Vitality; capability or talent. “It's over for that guy. He lost the sauce.”
- noun (bodybuilding) Anabolic steroids.
- noun (art) A soft crayon for use in stump drawing or in shading with the stump.
- noun (dated) Cheek; impertinence; backtalk; sass.
- noun (US, obsolete slang, 1800s) Vegetables.
- verb To add sauce to; to season.
- verb To cause to relish anything, as if with a sauce; to tickle or gratify, as the palate; to please; to stimulate.
- verb To make poignant; to give zest, flavour or interest to; to set off; to vary and render attractive.
- verb (colloquial) To treat with bitter, pert, or tart language; to be impudent or saucy to.
- verb (slang) To send or hand over.
Synonyms
adult beverage alcohol bevvy booze carouse drink fuddling grog hard drink libation liquor lush nightcap potation potent potable shot strong drink strong water tiddly tincture
Etymology
From Middle English sauce, from Old French sause, from Vulgar Latin *salsa, noun use of the feminine of Latin salsus (“salted”), past participle of saliō (“to salt”), from sal. Doublet of salsa.
For the meaning development compare Ancient Greek ἥδυσμα (hḗdusma) ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *swéh₂dus (whence also English sweet).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A composition of condiments and appetizing ingredients eaten with food as a relish; especially, a dressing for meat or fish or for puddings; as, mint sauce; sweet sauce, etc. "Poignant sauce." Chaucer.
- noun Any garden vegetables eaten with meat. [Prov. Eng. & Colloq. U.S.]
- verb To accompany with something intended to give a higher relish; to supply with appetizing condiments; to season; to flavor.
- verb To cause to relish anything, as if with a sauce; to tickle or gratify, as the palate; to please; to stimulate; hence, to cover, mingle, or dress, as if with sauce; to make an application to. [R.]
Etymology [F., fr. OF. sausse, LL. salsa, properly, salt pickle, fr. L. salsus salted, salt, p.p. of salire to salt, fr. sal salt. See Salt, and cf. Saucer, Souse pickle, Souse to plunge.]
Etymology [Cf. F. saucer.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “sauce”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details