catacaustic

American

[kat-uh-kaw-stik] / ˌkæt əˈkɔ stɪk /

adjective

noting a caustic surface or curve formed by the reflection of light.

noun

a catacaustic surface or curve.

catacaustic British

/ ˌkætəˈkɔːstɪk, -ˈkɒs- /

adjective

(of a caustic curve or surface) formed by reflected light rays Compare diacaustic

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

a catacaustic curve or surface

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of catacaustic

First recorded in 1700–10; cata- + caustic

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

We have in like manner, as derivatives of a given curve, the caustic, catacaustic or diacaustic as the case may be, and the secondary caustic, or curve cutting at right angles the reflected or refracted rays.

From Project Gutenberg

In optics, the term caustic is given to the envelope of luminous rays after reflection or refraction; in the first case the envelope is termed a catacaustic, in the second a diacaustic.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023