PICKLE

I. noun Etymology: Middle English pykyl, pekill sauce, gravy, from or akin to Middle Dutch peeckel brine Date: 15th century a solution or bath for preserving or cleaning: as, a brine or vinegar solution in which foods are preserved, any of various baths used in industrial cleaning or processing, a difficult situation ; plight , an article of food that has been preserved in brine or in vinegar, II. transitive verb (~d; pickling) Date: 1570 to treat, preserve, or clean in or with a ~, to give a light finish to (as furniture) by bleaching or painting and wiping, III. noun Etymology: perhaps from Scots ~ to trifle, pilfer Date: 1552 grain , kernel , a small quantity