Plural of 'acetum'; vinegars or acidic solutions used in medicine, cooking, or preservation.
From Latin 'acetum' (vinegar), derived from 'acere' (to be sour) + 'acetum' (sharp wine). The plural form 'aceta' preserves the Latin inflection used in classical and medical texts.
Roman soldiers carried 'aceta' (sour wine) as their ration drink—it was cheap, refreshing, and killed pathogens in questionable water. The word 'acetum' is literally where we get 'acetic acid,' the main ingredient in vinegar!
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