different between trenchant vs legalistic

English

Alternative forms

• trenchaunt (obsolete)

Etymology

Borrowed into Middle English from Old French trenchant, the present participle of trenchier (“to cut”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?t??n??nt/

Adjective

trenchant (comparative more trenchant, superlative most trenchant)

1. (obsolete) Fitted to trench or cut; gutting; sharp.
   • 1663, Samuel Butler, Hudibras, part 1, canto 1:

     The trenchant blade, Toledo trusty, / For want of fighting was grown rusty, / And ate into itself, for lack / Of somebody to hew and hack.

2. (figuratively) Keen; biting; vigorously articulate and effective; severe.
   • 2011, Jay A. Gertzman, Bookleggers and Smuthounds: The Trade in Erotica, 1920-1940

     His trenchant criticisms of the Church's repression […] include a discussion of the considerable 1938 success of the fledgling NODL in getting magazines removed from various points of sale.

Translations

Middle French

Etymology

Old French trenchant.

Noun

trenchant m or f (plural trenchans)

1. sharp

Descendants

• French: tranchant

Old French

Adjective

trenchant m (oblique and nominative feminine singular trenchant or trenchante)

1. sharp; razor sharp

Declension

Verb

trenchant

1. present participle of trenchier

English

Etymology

legal +? -istic

Adjective

legalistic (comparative more legalistic, superlative most legalistic)

1. Of a person, following the letter of the law.

   He's very legalistic, so let's hope the law is just and merciful as well as strict.

2. Of a person, tending to resort to the law, as one who sues frequently.

   His legalistic tendencies irritated his neighbors, especially since they had to defend themselves against his frivolous suits.

3. Practicing or characterized by legalism.

   She was legalistic in her observation of religious rules and traditions.

   the European Union is legalistic, bureaucratic and runs by precedent.

Related terms

• legalism
• legalist

See also

• literalist

Further reading

• legalistic at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• legistical