There are two metals: gold, called or, and represented in engraving by
a white surface covered with small dots; and silver, called argent, and
represented by a plain white surface. The colors and their
representations are as follows: red, called gules, or a shading of
vertical lines; blue, called azure, or horizontal lines; black, called
sable, or horizontal and vertical lines crossing; green, called vert,
or diagonal lines from dexter chief corner; purple, called purpure, or
diagonal lines from sinister chief corner. The furs are ermine,
ermines, erminois, pean, vair, counter vair, potent, and counter
potent. See Illustration in Appendix.
3. The finer and more volatile parts of a substance, separated by a
solvent; an extract of a part of the substance of a body communicated
to the solvent.
4. (Med.) A solution (commonly colored) of medicinal substance in
alcohol, usually more or less diluted; spirit containing medicinal
substances in solution.
According to the United States Pharmacopœia, the term tincture (also
called alcoholic tincture, and spirituous tincture) is reserved for the
alcoholic solutions of nonvolatile substances, alcoholic solutions of
volatile substances being called spirits.
Ethereal tincture, a solution of medicinal substance in ether.
5. A slight taste superadded to any substance; as, a tincture of orange
peel.
6. A slight quality added to anything; a tinge; as, a tincture of
French manners.
All manners take a tincture from our own.
Pope.
Every man had a slight tincture of soldiership, and scarcely any man
more than a slight tincture.
Macaulay.
Tinc"ture, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tinctured (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Tincturing.] 1. To communicate a slight foreign color to; to tinge; to
impregnate with some extraneous matter.
A little black paint will tincture and spoil twenty gay colors.