acerb
English edit
Etymology edit
Latin acerbus, from Latin ācer (“sharp”): compare French acerbe. See acrid.
Pronunciation edit
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /əˈsɜːb/
Audio (Southern England) (file) - (General American) IPA(key): /əˈsɜɹb/
- Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)b
Adjective edit
acerb (comparative acerber or more acerb, superlative acerbest or most acerb)
- (archaic) Sour, bitter, and harsh to the taste, such as unripe fruit.
- Synonym: acerbic
- 1732, Edward Strother, Prælectiones Pharmaco-mathicæ & medico-practicæ:
- If you put Spirit of Sulphur to the Peruvian Bark, it then becomes very acerb. If you mix Mercury with Spirit of Nitre or Oil of Vitriol whilst it boils, it then is very acerb.
- (archaic, figurative) Sharp and harsh in expressing oneself.
- Synonym: acerbic
- 1909, Canada. Parliament. House of Commons, Debates: Official Report, volume 1, page 1970:
- As to the somewhat acerb remarks of the member for Jacques Cartier, I may pass them over […]
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
bitter to the taste
References edit
- “acerb”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Anagrams edit
Romanian edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from French acerbe, from Latin acerbus.
Adjective edit
acerb m or n (feminine singular acerbă, masculine plural acerbi, feminine and neuter plural acerbe)