Mordant
/ˈmɔːr.dənt/noun
Sharp, biting, or caustic in expression; also a substance used to fix dye to fabric.
Did you know?Mordant’s dye-related meaning preserves the same “biting” metaphor: a mordant helps color bite into and permanently bond with fibers.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*merdʰ-
“To bite”
Classical Latin
Latin
mordēre
“To bite, gnaw, or sting”
Classical Latin
Latin
mordēns
“Biting; present participle of mordēre”
12th–13th Century
Old French
mordant
“Biting, sharp, or caustic”
15th Century
English
mordant
“Biting or incisive in speech or style”
17th Century
English
mordant
“A substance used in dyeing to fix color to material”
Modern English
English
mordant
“Caustically witty, sharply critical, or dye-fixing”