Wordwyrt

caustic

/ˈkɒstɪk/KO-stik
/ˈkɑstɪk/KAH-stik

Meaningburning

Common meaning: burning by chemical action

Other meanings: biting

Journey through time

  1. Greekκαίω; καυστικός‘to burn’
  2. Englishcaustic‘burning by chemical action’ · today

caust also in: cauterizeholocaust

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Greek καίω; καυστικός ‘to burn; burning’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), entry καίω, p. 221 · dictionary scan

Roots

Related words

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