acerbic

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The Word of the Day for September 23 is: 

acerbic   \uh-SER-bik\   adjective
          : acid in temper, mood, or tone

Example sentence:
           Liam’s speech was punctuated by his usual acerbic wit, and some 
people in the audience thought that his comments went too far.

Did you know?
        English speakers created “acerbic” in the 19th century by adding “-ic” 
to the adjective “acerb.” “Acerb” had been around since the 17th century, but 
for most of that time it had been used with only a literal “sour-tasting” 
sense. (The word “acerb” is still around today, but it is now simply a less 
common synonym of “acerbic.”) “Acerbic” and “acerb” ultimately come from the 
Latin adjective “acerbus,” which originally meant “sour-tasting” but came to 
have a figurative use as well. Another English word that comes from “acerbus” 
is “exacerbate,” which means “to make more violent, bitter, or severe.”





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