Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “caustic” come from?

Caustic comes from Latin causticus, derived from Ancient Greek καυστικός, meaning "capable of burning."

caustic (English): Capable of burning, corroding or destroying...

Definitions

  1. Capable of burning, corroding or destroying...

Ancestry of “caustic”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Italiancausticocaustic; scathing
2Latincausticusburning
3Ancient Greekκαυστικόςburning
4Ancient Greek-ικόςof or pertaining to, in the manner of; -ic
5Ancient Greek-κόςforms adjectives with the sense of 'of or...
6Proto-Indo-European-ḱos-y, -ic

Words derived from “caustic”

  • caustically
  • causticity
  • noncaustic
  • catacaustic
  • galvanocaustic
  • causticize
  • caustical
  • causticization
  • causticness
  • diacaustic
  • caustification
  • postcaustic
  • 哥士的
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos →