acidity

noun — 4 senses

acidity

noun

/əˈsɪd.ɪ.ti/ · [-ɾi]

Etymology From French acidité, from Latin aciditātem, accusative singular of aciditās (“sourness, acidity”), from acidus (“sour, acid”). Equivalent to acid + -ity.

1

The quality or state of being acid.

2

Sourness; tartness; sharpness to the taste.

  • the acidity of lemon juice
  • Empty stomachs lead to acidity and leave a sour taste in the mouth.
3

Medicine, Pathology, Sciences Excessive acid quality, as in gastric secretions.

4

Figuratively A caustic, sour, biting, or bitter quality.

  • "What shall we call it?" he asked. "Why should you not take the chance of perpetuating your own name?" said Summerlee, with his usual touch of acidity.1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
  • It was a brave, good speech, a speech from that staunch and strong spirit which lay behind all the acidities and angularities of the old zoologist.1913, Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Time of Death”, in The Poison Belt […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC, page 60:
Antonyms
alkalinity, basicity
Derived terms
acidity function, acidity regulator, anacidity, Hammett acidity function, hyperacidity, hypoacidity, nonacidity, subacidity, superacidity

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.