Hypertext Webster Gateway: "caustic"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Caustic \Caus"tic\, Caustical \Caus"tic*al\, a. [L. caustucs,
Ge. ?, fr. ? to burn. Cf. {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.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Caustic \Cau"stic\, n. [L. causticum (sc. medicamentum). See
{Caustic}, a.]
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.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
caustic
adj 1: harsh or corrosive in tone; "an acerbic tone piercing
otherwise flowery prose"; "a barrage of acid
comments"; "her acrid remarks make her many enemies";
"bitter words"; "blistering criticism"; "caustic jokes
about political assassination, talk-show hosts and
medical ethics"; "a sulfurous denunciation" [syn: {acerb},
{acerbic}, {acid}, {acrid}, {bitter}, {blistering}, {sulfurous},
{sulphurous}, {venomous}, {virulent}, {vitriolic}]
2: of a substance, especially a strong acid; capable of
destroying or eating away by chemical action [syn: {corrosive},
{erosive}, {vitriolic}]
n : any chemical substance that burns or destroys living tissue
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