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Acid

2 stages from Latin to English.

Today it means a sour, corrosive chemical substance

Where does the word "acid" come from? It comes from Latin acidus, adopted directly into English (1620s).

1
Stage 1 of 2
acidus
Latin · ancient
"sour"
from 'acere', to be sour, the root of 'acerbic'
2
Stage 2 of 2
acid
English · 1620s
"sour"
the chemical sense dates from the 1600s; 'acid' as LSD from the 1960s; first recorded in 1626 in Francis Bacon's natural-history work 'Sylva Sylvarum'
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Acid’s story begins in Latin: acidus meant “sour.” From 'acere', to be sour, the root of 'acerbic'. It reached English by 1620s as acid. The chemical sense dates from the 1600s; 'acid' as LSD from the 1960s; first recorded in 1626 in Francis Bacon's natural-history work 'Sylva Sylvarum'. Today, acid means a sour, corrosive chemical substance.