CAUSTICS
Noun
caustics
plural of caustic
Source: Wiktionary
CAUSTIC
Caus"tic, Caus"tic*al, a. Etym: [L. caustucs, Ge. Calm, Ink.]
1. Capable of destroying the texture of anything or eating away its
substance by chemical action; burning; corrosive; searing.
2. Severe; satirical; sharp; as, a caustic remark. Caustic curve
(Optics), a curve to which the ray of light, reflected or refracted
by another curve, are tangents, the reflecting or refracting curve
and the luminous point being in one plane.
– Caustic lime. See under Lime.
– Caustic potash, Caustic soda (Chem.), the solid hydroxides
potash, KOH, and soda, NaOH, or solutions of the same.
– Caustic silver, nitrate of silver, lunar caustic.
– Caustic surface (Optics), a surface to which rays reflected or
refracted by another surface are tangents. Caustic curves and
surfaces are called catacaustic when formed by reflection, and
diacaustic when formed by refraction.
Syn.
– Stinging; cutting; pungent; searching.
Cau"stic, n. Etym: [L. causticum (sc. medicamentum). See Caustic, a.]
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)
Definition: A caustic curve or caustic surface.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition