mordicant

English

Etymology

From Latin mordicans, p.pr. of mordicare (“to bite”), from mordere. Compare French mordicant.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɔː(ɹ)dɪkənt/

Adjective

mordicant (comparative more mordicant, superlative most mordicant)

1. biting; acrid
   • 1661, Robert Boyle, “(please specify the page)”, in The Sceptical Chymist: or Chymico-physical Doubts & Paradoxes, […], London: […] J. Cadwell for J. Crooke, […], →OCLC:

     the mordicant quality of Bodies must proceed from a fiery ingredient

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “mordicant”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)

French

Adjective

mordicant (feminine mordicante, masculine plural mordicants, feminine plural mordicantes)

1. (archaic) mordicant; biting

Further reading

• “mordicant”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.