mordant

English

Etymology

From French mordant, from Latin mordeō. Doublet of mordent.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɔː(ɹ)dənt/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Homophone: mordent

Adjective

mordant (comparative more mordant, superlative most mordant)

1. Having or showing a sharp or critical quality

   Synonyms: biting, caustic, keen, sarcastic, severe

2. Serving to fix a dye to a fibre.

Related terms

• morsel
• remorse

Translations

biting or caustic

• Bulgarian: язвителен (bg) (jazvitelen)
• Finnish: pureva (fi), julma (fi), pisteliäs (fi)
• French: mordant (fr)
• German: beißend (de), bissig (de), sarkastisch (de)
• Greek: δηκτικός (el) m (diktikós), καυστικός (el) m (kafstikós)
• Italian: mordente (it), caustico (it), sarcastico (it), mordace (it)
• Korean: 신랄한 (sillalhan)
• Polish: żrący (pl)
• Spanish: mordaz (es)

Noun

mordant (countable and uncountable, plural mordants)

1. Any substance used to facilitate the fixing of a dye to a fibre; usually a metallic compound which reacts with the dye using chelation.
   • 1964, L.F. Salzman, English Industries of the Middle Ages, page 208:

     In dyeing two mediums are required, the colouring matter and the mordant which fixes the dye in the wool.

2. Any corrosive substance used in etching.
3. A glutinous size used as a ground for gilding, to make the gold leaf adhere.

Synonyms

• (substance for etching): etchant

Derived terms

• acid mordant
• mordant dye

 

Translations

a substance used to facilitate dye fixing

• Bulgarian: байц (bg) m (bajc)
• Catalan: mordent (ca) m
• Finnish: puretin
• German: Beize (de) f
• Gujarati: રંગરખું (raṅgarkhũ)
• Italian: mordente (it) m
• Korean: 매염제 (maeyeomje)
• Maori: waitumu, tūmau kano
• Serbo-Croatian: močilo (sh) n
• Spanish: mordiente, mordaz (es)

Verb

mordant (third-person singular simple present mordants, present participle mordanting, simple past and past participle mordanted)

1. (transitive) To subject to the action of, or imbue with, a mordant.

   Mordant these goods for dyeing.

Translations

to subject to a mordant

• Bulgarian: байцвам (bg) (bajcvam)
• Catalan: mordentar (ca)
• Finnish: purettaa
• French: amordancer (fr)
• Italian: mordenzare (it)

See also

• mordant on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• mordent

Anagrams

• dormant

French

Participle

mordant

1. present participle of mordre

Adjective

mordant (feminine mordante, masculine plural mordants, feminine plural mordantes)

1. biting, sharp, acrid
2. mordant
3. corrosive

Further reading

• “mordant”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• dormant

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French mordant.

Adjective

mordant m or n (feminine singular mordantă, masculine plural mordanți, feminine and neuter plural mordante)

1. mordant

Declension

Declension of mordant

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	mordant		mordantă	mordanți	mordante
	definite	mordantul		mordanta	mordanții	mordantele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	mordant		mordante	mordanți	mordante
	definite	mordantului		mordantei	mordanților	mordantelor