caustic

Caustic starts in a laboratory. A caustic substance is one that burns what it touches — it eats through cloth, skin, metal — and the word came from the Greek for burning. When it moved into speech it kept every bit of that. Caustic criticism is not sharp, it is corrosive: it goes on working long after it was said, and the person it was aimed at is still repeating it to themselves that evening. This is what separates it from acerbic, which is sour, quick and often funny. Both are unkind. Acerbic leaves a sting; caustic leaves a mark.

Caustic empieza en el laboratorio: una sustancia caustic quema lo que toca, y la palabra viene del griego «quemar». Al pasar al habla se lo llevó todo. La crítica caustic no es aguda, es corrosiva: sigue trabajando esa noche. Acerbic deja escozor; caustic deja marca.

Caustic começa no laboratório: uma substância caustic queima o que toca, e a palavra vem do grego "queimar". Ao passar para a fala, levou tudo junto. A crítica caustic não é afiada, é corrosiva: continua trabalhando à noite. Acerbic deixa ardência; caustic deixa marca.

Caustic commence au laboratoire : une substance caustic brûle ce qu'elle touche, et le mot vient du grec « brûler ». En passant dans la parole, il a tout emporté. Une critique caustic n'est pas vive, elle est corrosive : elle travaille encore le soir. Acerbic pique ; caustic marque.

Caustic bermula di laboratorium: zat caustic membakar apa pun yang disentuhnya, dan katanya berasal dari bahasa Yunani "membakar". Saat pindah ke ucapan, semuanya ikut terbawa. Kritik caustic bukan tajam, melainkan mengikis: malamnya masih bekerja. Acerbic menyisakan perih; caustic menyisakan bekas.

Caustic laboratuvarda başlar: caustic bir madde dokunduğunu yakar ve kelime Yunancada "yakmak"tan gelir. Konuşmaya geçerken hepsini yanında getirdi. Caustic eleştiri keskin değil, aşındırıcıdır: akşam hâlâ çalışır. Acerbic acıtır; caustic iz bırakır.

caustic は実験室から来ました。caustic な物質は触れたものを焼き、語源もギリシャ語の「焼く」です。話し言葉に移っても、それをそのまま持ってきました。caustic な批評は鋭いのではなく、あとから効き続けます。acerbic はひりつかせ、caustic は跡を残します。