vinaigrette

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a dressing or sauce made chiefly from oil, vinegar, and seasonings

   She whisked mustard and herbs into the vinaigrette before dressing the salad.

2. 2
   noun

   historical: a small ornamental box or bottle with a perforated top, used to hold aromatic vinegar, smelling salts, or a scented sponge

   One of the matrons opened her silver vinaigrette when a guest began to feel faint.

Borrowed from French vinaigrette, a diminutive of vinaigre, 'vinegar.' The historical English sense named a small container for aromatic vinegar or smelling salts; the now-familiar culinary sense names an oil-and-vinegar sauce or dressing.

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