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mordacious

[mawr-dey-shuhs] Origin

mor·da·cious

[mawr-dey-shuhs]
adjective
1.
biting or given to biting.
2.
sharp or caustic in style, tone, etc.

Origin:
1640–50; < Latin mordāci- (stem of mordāx given to biting) + -ous

mor·da·cious·ly, adverb
mor·dac·i·ty [mawr-das-i-tee] , noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Mordacious is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
Collins
World English Dictionary
mordacious (mɔːˈdeɪʃəs)
 
adj
sarcastic, caustic, or biting
 
[C17: from Latin mordax, from mordēre to bite]
 
mor'daciously
 
adv
 
mordacity
 
n
 
mor'daciousness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

mordacious
1640s (originally figurative), from L. mordac-, from mordax, from mordere (see smart (v.)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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