Etymology Explorer › Italian

Where does “mordace” come from?

mordace (Italian) comes from Latin mordax, from Latin -āx, from Latin -ium, from Latin -ius, from Proto-Italic -jōs, from Proto-Indo-European -yós — Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems.

mordace (Italian): pungent; cutting, biting

Definitions

  1. pungent; cutting, biting

Ancestry of “mordace”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinmordaxbiting; snappish; tart; cutting; caustic
2Latin-āx—
3Latin-iumSuffix used to form abstract nouns, sometimes...
4Latin-iusforming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter...
5Proto-Italic-jōsForms comparative adjectives
6Proto-Indo-European-yósCreates adjectives from noun or verb stems

Words derived from “mordace”

  • mordacità
  • mordacemente
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yós →