acid (English)
Where does "acid" come from?
The English adjective acid was borrowed from the French word 'acide'[1], which itself derives from the Latin 'acidus' meaning 'sour, acid'[2]. The Latin adjective traces back to the verb 'aceō' meaning 'I am sour'[1] or 'to be sour'[2]. Going further back, this Latin root stems from the Proto-Indo-European form '*h₂éḱ-eh₁ye-ti' meaning 'to be sharp', which is an stative formation built on the root '*h₂eḱ-' meaning 'sharp'[5].
Open questions
- The ultimate Proto-Indo-European reconstructions for the root meaning sharp are theoretical forms. [5]
Full etymology tree
- acid (English), 'Sour, sharp, or biting to the taste; tart; having the taste of vinegar.'
- borrowed acide (French), 'acid, acidic, sour, tart'
- borrowed acidus (Latin), 'sour, tart, acid, bitter'
- compound aceo (Latin), 'to be sour'
- derived *h₂éḱ-eh₁ye-ti (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *h₂eḱ- (Proto-Indo-European), 'sharp'
- derived *h₂éḱ-eh₁ye-ti (Proto-Indo-European)
- suffix -idus (Latin), 'tending to'
- compound aceo (Latin), 'to be sour'
- borrowed acidus (Latin), 'sour, tart, acid, bitter'
- borrowed acide (French), 'acid, acidic, sour, tart'
Ancestors
- *h₂eḱ- (Proto-Indo-European)
- acide (French)
- acidus (Latin)
Cognates and doublets
- acetic (English)
- agita (English)
Descendants and derived words
- acidaemia (English)
- acid amide (English)
- acid anhydride (English)
- acid attack (English)
- acid-base (English)
- acid-base pair (English)
- acid bomb (English)
- acid breaks (English)
- acid chloride (English)
- acidcore (English)
- acid dissociation constant (English)
- acid drop (English)
Related words
Sources
- acid (English) - Wiktionary
- acide (French) - Wiktionary
- acidus (Latin) - Wiktionary
- idus (Latin) - Wiktionary
- aceo (Latin) - Wiktionary
Updated October 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris