Caustic, Caustical, a.
Etymology: [L. caustucs, Ge. Calm, Ink.]
1. Capable of destroying the texture of anything or eating away its substance by chemical action; burning; corrosive; searing.
2. Severe; satirical; sharp; as, a caustic remark. Caustic curve (Optics), a curve to which the ray of light, reflected or refracted by another curve, are tangents, the reflecting or refracting curve and the luminous point being in one plane. -- Caustic lime. See under Lime. -- Caustic potash, Caustic soda (Chem.), the solid hydroxides potash, KOH, and soda, NaOH, or solutions of the same. -- Caustic silver, nitrate of silver, lunar caustic. -- Caustic surface (Optics), a surface to which rays reflected or refracted by another surface are tangents. Caustic curves and surfaces are called catacaustic when formed by reflection, and diacaustic when formed by refraction.
Syn. -- Stinging; cutting; pungent; searching.
1 other Webster entry under this spelling
Caustic, n.
1. Any substance or means which, applied to animal or other organic tissue, burns, corrodes, or destroys it by chemical action; an escharotic.
2. (Optics)
A caustic curve or caustic surface.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for caustic; he lists it under bitter.
Where he writes about it:
Caustic indicates the corroding effect of some strong chemical, as nitrate of silver. — from bitter
We say a sour face, sharp words, bitter complaints, caustic wit, cutting irony, biting sarcasm, a stinging taunt, harsh judgment, a tart reply. — from bitter
The caustic utterance is meant to burn, perhaps wholesomely, as in the satire of Juvenal or Cervantes. — from bitter