different between piercing vs caustic

English

Etymology

pierce +? -ing

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?p??s??/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?p??s??/
• Rhymes: -??(?)s??
• Hyphenation: piercing

Verb

piercing

1. present participle of pierce

Noun

piercing (countable and uncountable, plural piercings)

1. (uncountable) The action of the verb to pierce.
2. A hole made in the body so that jewellery/jewelry can be worn through it.

   ear piercing

3. An item of jewelry designed to be fitted through a piercing.

Translations

Adjective

piercing (comparative more piercing, superlative most piercing)

1. Appearing to look deeply into; penetrating.

   piercing eyes

2. Of temperature, extremely cold so that it penetrates through clothing and shelter.
3. Of sound, loud and sharp; shrill.

   The piercing noise of the children could be heard two blocks from the elementary school.

Derived terms

• armour-piercing, armor-piercing

Translations

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English piercing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?pi?r.s??/
• Hyphenation: pier?cing

Noun

piercing m (plural piercings, diminutive piercinkje n)

1. piercing (ornament)

Derived terms

• lippiercing
• navelpiercing
• neuspiercing
• tepelpiercing
• wenkbrauwpiercing

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English piercing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pj??.si?/

Noun

piercing m (plural piercings)

1. a piercing

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English piercing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?pir.sin?/, /?pir.sin/
• Hyphenation: pier?cing

Noun

piercing m (invariable)

1. piercing (jewellery worn through a hole in the skin or tongue)

Polish

Etymology

From English piercing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?p?ir.sink/

Noun

piercing m inan

1. piercing (jewellery worn through a hole in the skin or tongue)

Declension

Further reading

• piercing in Wielki s?ownik j?zyka polskiego, Instytut J?zyka Polskiego PAN
• piercing in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from English piercing.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /?pi?.s?/

Noun

piercing m (plural piercings)

1. piercing (jewellery worn through a hole in the skin or tongue)

Usage notes

Earrings (brincos) are not considered piercings.

Spanish

Etymology

From English piercing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?pi?sin/, [?pi?.s?n]

Noun

piercing m (plural piercings)

1. piercing

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from English piercing.

Noun

piercing c

1. piercing (body art)

Declension

Derived terms

• ansiktspiercing
• kroppspiercing

English

Etymology

From the Latin causticus (“burning”), from the Ancient Greek ????????? (kaustikós, “burning”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: kôs't?k, k?s't?k, IPA^(key): /?k??st?k/, /?k?st?k/
• Rhymes: -??st?k

Adjective

caustic (comparative more caustic, superlative most caustic)

1. Capable of burning, corroding or destroying organic tissue.
2. (of language, etc.) Sharp, bitter, cutting, biting, and sarcastic in a scathing way.
   • 1853, Charlotte Brontë, Villette

     Madame Beck esteemed me learned and blue; Miss Fanshawe, caustic, ironic, and cynical

   • c. 1930, W.H.Auden, "The Quest"

     though he came too late / To join the martyrs, there was still a place / Among the tempters for a caustic tongue / / To test the resolution of the young / With tales of the small failings of the great

Synonyms

• (capable of destroying tissue): acidic, biting, burning, corrosive, searing
• (severe, sharp): bitchy, biting, catty, mordacious, nasty, sarcastic, scathing, sharp, spiteful, vitriolic

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

caustic (plural caustics)

1. Any substance or means which, applied to animal or other organic tissue, burns, corrodes, or destroys it by chemical action; an escharotic.
2. (optics, computer graphics) The envelope of reflected or refracted rays of light for a given surface or object.
3. (mathematics) The envelope of reflected or refracted rays for a given curve.
4. (informal, chemistry) Caustic soda.

Derived terms

• lunar caustic

Translations