Tincture - Definition and Overview

In medicine, a tincture is an alcoholic extract (e.g. of an herb) or solution of a nonvolatile substance (e.g. of iodine, mercurochrome.) Solutions of volatile substances were called spirits. Some examples that were formerly common in medicine include:

• tincture of benzoin
• tincture of cantharides
• tincture of ferric citrochloride (a chelate of citric acid and ferric chloride)
• tincture of green soap (which also contains lavender)
• tincture of guaiac
• tincture of iodine
• tincture of opium (laudanum)
• camphorated opium tincture (paregoric)

The phrase "Tincture of time" refers to the tendency of many things to resolve themselves if one simply waits.

Examples of spirits include:

• spirit of ammonia (also called spirit of hartshorn)
• spirit of camphor
• "spirit of nitre" is not a spirit in this sense, but an old name for nitric acid
• similarly "spirit of vinegar" actually meant glacial acetic acid

In heraldry, the tinctures are the colors used in a coat of arms: see tincture (heraldry).