inanition

Pronounced: ih-nuh-NIH-shun, noun

Notes: I haven’t run across this word, and I’m a bit surprised that I haven’t

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Yesterday’s word

The word astringent, as a noun, is “a substance that constricts body tissues”. As an adjective, it means

• contracting or constricting
• caustic; pungent
• stern; austere

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1500s

Background / Comments

I was thinking that our word referred to sarcastic comments, and perhaps that is close to the middle definition for the adjective. Our word came from the Latin word astringere (to bind fast), which is made up from ad- (toward) and stringere (to bind).