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Mordant

 - 10 dictionary results

mor⋅dant

  [mawr-dnt]
Use Mordant in a Sentence
–adjective
1. sharply caustic or sarcastic, as wit or a speaker; biting.
2. burning; corrosive.
3. having the property of fixing colors, as in dyeing.
–noun
4. a substance used in dyeing to fix the coloring matter, esp. a metallic compound, as an oxide or hydroxide, that combines with the organic dye and forms an insoluble colored compound or lake in the fiber.
5. an adhesive substance for binding gold or silver leaf to a surface.
6. an acid or other corrosive substance used in etching to eat out the lines, areas, etc.
7. Music. mordent.
–verb (used with object)
8. to impregnate or treat with a mordant.
Origin:
1425–75; late ME < MF, prp. of mordre to bite ≪ L mordēre; see -ant

Related forms:
mor⋅dant⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. cutting, stinging, acerbic, scathing.

mor⋅dent

  [mawr-dnt]
–noun Music.
1. a melodic embellishment consisting of a rapid alternation of a principal tone with the tone a half or a whole step below it, called single or short when the auxiliary tone occurs once and double or long when this occurs twice or more.
2. inverted mordent.
Also, mordant.

Origin:
1800–10; < G < It mordente biting < L mordent-, s. of mordēns, prp. of mordēre to bite; see -ent
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Mordant
mor·dant   (môr'dnt)   
adj.  

    1. Bitingly sarcastic: mordant satire.

    2. Incisive and trenchant: an inquisitor's mordant questioning.

  2. Bitingly painful.

  3. Serving to fix colors in dyeing.

n.  

  1. A reagent, such as tannic acid, that fixes dyes to cells, tissues, or textiles or other materials.

  2. A corrosive substance, such as an acid, used in etching.

tr.v.   mor·dant·ed, mor·dant·ing, mor·dants
To treat with a mordant.

[French, from Old French, present participle of mordre, to bite, from Vulgar Latin *mordere, from Latin mordēre; see mer- in Indo-European roots.]
mor'dan·cy n., mor'dant·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Main Entry:  mordant1
Part of Speech:  adj
Definition:  biting and caustic
Etymology:  French mordre 'to bite'
Main Entry:  mordant2
Part of Speech:  adj
Definition:  pungent
Etymology:  French mordre 'to bite'
Main Entry:  mordant
Part of Speech:  n
Definition:  a corrosive chemical that fixes a dye
Etymology:  French mordre 'to bite'
Main Entry:  mordant
Part of Speech:  v
Definition:  to treat with a chemical that fixes a dye
Etymology:  French mordre 'to bite'
Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
Copyright © 2003-2009 Dictionary.com, LLC
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Word Origin & History

mordant  (adj.)
1474, "caustic" (of words, speech), from M.Fr. mordant, lit. "biting," prp. of mordre "to bite," from L. mordere "to bite or sting" (see smart (v.)). The noun sense in dyeing is first recorded 1791; the adj. in this sense is from 1902.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: mor·dant
Pronunciation: 'mord-&nt
Function: noun
: a chemical that fixes a dye in or on a substance by combining with thedye to form an insoluble compound —mordant transitive verb
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

mordant mor·dant (môr'dnt)
adj.
Serving to fix colors in dyeing. n.
A reagent, such as tannic acid, that fixes dyes to cells, tissues, or other materials. v. mor·dant·ed, mor·dant·ing, mor·dants
To treat with a mordant.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
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