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acerb
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English
Etymology
From Latin acerbus, from Latin ācer (“sharp”): compare French acerbe. See acrid.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /əˈsɜːb/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - (General American) IPA(key): /əˈsɜɹb/
- Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)b
Adjective
acerb (comparative acerber or more acerb, superlative acerbest or most acerb)
- (archaic) Sour, bitter, and harsh to the taste, such as unripe fruit.
- Synonym: acerbic
- 1732, Edward Strother, Prælectiones Pharmaco-mathicæ & medico-practicæ:
- If you put Spirit of Sulphur to the Peruvian Bark, it then becomes very acerb. If you mix Mercury with Spirit of Nitre or Oil of Vitriol whilst it boils, it then is very acerb.
- (archaic, figurative) Sharp and harsh in expressing oneself.
- Synonym: acerbic
- 1909, Canada. Parliament. House of Commons, Debates: Official Report, volume 1, page 1970:
- As to the somewhat acerb remarks of the member for Jacques Cartier, I may pass them over […]
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
bitter to the taste
References
- “acerb”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Anagrams
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Romanian
Etymology
Adjective
acerb m or n (feminine singular acerbă, masculine plural acerbi, feminine/neuter plural acerbe)
Declension
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