English → Latin
“caustic” in Latin
causticusburning, caustic, corrosiveērōdōto gnaw away; corrodesēpticusputrefying; septicmedicāmentumdrug, remedy, medicinemordeōto 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)acerbusharsh, bitter, unripe, sour, premature, not yet marriageable; sharp, severe, bitter (i.e., extremely painful); rough, vi
The English word caustic itself goes back to Latin causticus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
caustic
causticus (καυστικός): erodens: septicus (σηπτικός). Caustics, medicamenta rodentia or erodentia.
FIG., applied to language, etc., mordens: mordax: acidus: aculeatus: acerbus. Caustic words, verborum aculei: caustic wit, acerbitas salis: in a caustic manner, mordaciter: acerbe.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for caustic?
- The usual Latin words for “caustic” are causticus, ērōdō, sēpticus; also medicāmentum, mordeō, mordāx. 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.