English → Latin
“biting” in Latin
mordeōto bite (into); nibble, gnaw; to nip, sting; to eat, consume, devour, erodemordāxbiting; snappish; tart; cutting; causticacidussour, tart, acid, bitter; harsh, grating, rough, shrill; disagreeable, unpleasant; sharp, keen, pungent; sharp-tonguedaculeātusprickly; barbed; stinging, barbed (metaphorical)
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
biting
mordens, mordax (PROP. and figuratively); acidus (as to taste); aculeatus (figuratively, cutting, stinging). Biting words, verborum aculei. Biting wit, asperiores facetiae. A biting jest, jocus mordens. Biting vinegar, mordax or acidum acetum. A biting axe, securis mordax.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for biting?
- The usual Latin words for “biting” are mordeō, mordāx, acidus; also aculeātus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.