acrid

acrid
\ \ [18] Acrid is related to acid, and probably owes its second syllable entirely to that word. It is based essentially on Latin acersharp, pungent’, which, like acid, acute, oxygen, and edge, derives ultimately from an Indo-European base *ak- meaning ‘be pointed or sharp’. When this was imported into English in the 18th century, the ending -id was artificially grafted on to it, most likely from the semantically similar acid.
\ \ Cf.ACID, ACRYLIC, ACUTE, EDGE, EGLANTINE, OXYGEN, PARAGON

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Acrid — Ac rid, a. [L. acer sharp; prob. assimilated in form to acid. See {Eager}.] 1. Sharp and harsh, or bitter and not, to the taste; pungent; as, acrid salts. [1913 Webster] 2. Causing heat and irritation; corrosive; as, acrid secretions. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • acrid — index astringent, bitter (acrid tasting), caustic, harsh, mordacious, virulent Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • acrid — (adj.) 1712, formed irregularly from L. acer (fem. acris) sharp, pungent, bitter, eager, fierce, from PIE *ak ri , from root *ak be sharp, rise (out) to a point, pierce (Cf. Oscan acrid sharply; Gk. akis sharp point, akros at the farthest point,… …   Etymology dictionary

  • acrid — [adj1] bitter, sour to taste acid, amaroidal, astringent, biting, burning, caustic, harsh, irritating, pungent, sharp, stinging; concept 613 Ant. delicious, savory, sweet acrid [adj2] nasty in behavior or words acrimonious, austere, biting,… …   New thesaurus

  • acrid — ACRÍD s. v. viţă de vie. Trimis de siveco, 05.08.2004. Sursa: Sinonime …   Dicționar Român

  • acrid — 1 *bitter Analogous words: *pungent, piquant: biting (see INCISIVE): *offensive, repugnant, loathsome Antonyms: savory Contrasted words: *palatable, sapid, toothsome, tasty: fragrant, * …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • acrid — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ unpleasantly bitter or pungent. DERIVATIVES acridity noun acridly adverb. ORIGIN from Latin acer sharp, pungent …   English terms dictionary

  • acrid — [ak′rid] adj. [< L acris, fem. of acer, sharp < IE base * ak̑ (see ACID): form infl. by ACID] 1. sharp, bitter, stinging, or irritating to the taste or smell 2. bitter or sarcastic in speech, etc. acridity [ə krid′ə tē] n. acridness acridly …   English World dictionary

  • acrid — ac|rid [ˈækrıd] adj [Date: 1700 1800; : Latin; Origin: acer sharp ; influenced by acid] 1.) an acrid smell or taste is strong and unpleasant and stings your nose or throat ▪ a cloud of acrid smoke 2.) formal an acrid remark expresses anger and… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • acrid — ac|rid [ ækrıd ] adjective 1. ) an acrid smell or taste is very strong, bitter, and unpleasant in your nose and throat: stinging, acrid fumes of burning rubber 2. ) an acrid remark expresses criticism in a cruel way …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • acrid — [[t]æ̱krɪd[/t]] ADJ GRADED: usu ADJ n An acrid smell or taste is strong and sharp, and usually unpleasant. The room filled with the acrid smell of tobacco... The plant has an unpleasant odour and an acrid taste. Syn: pungent, bitter …   English dictionary

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