Caustical

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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.
        [1913 Webster]


  
     2. Severe; satirical; sharp; as, a caustic remark.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {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.
          [1913 Webster]