A pickle is a cucumber or other food that has been preserved in salty or sour liquid, usually vinegar or brine.
From Middle Dutch 'pekel' meaning 'brine, spicy sauce', which came into English through trade and cooking. Over time it shifted from meaning the liquid itself to the vegetables kept in it.
We still hear the older meaning in the phrase 'in a pickle', as if you’re stuck in a sour, messy situation. The sour taste comes from acids made by tiny microbes quietly transforming the food.
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