According to www.etymonline.com<\/a>, mordant enters the English language in the \u201clate 15c., \u2018caustic\u2019 (of words, speech), from Middle French\u00a0mordant,<\/em>\u00a0literally \u2018biting,\u2019 present participle of\u00a0mordre<\/em>\u00a0\u2018to bite,\u2019 from Latin\u00a0mordere<\/em>\u00a0\u2018to bite, bite into; nip, sting;\u2019 figuratively \u2018to pain, cause hurt,\u2019 which is perhaps from an extended form of PIE root\u00a0*mer-<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u2018to rub away, harm.\u2019” That a word meaning \u201ccaustic\u201d comes from the French somehow doesn\u2019t surprise me.<\/p>\n The first definition in the OED<\/em> reads, \u201cOf a person, his or her wit, a remark, etc.: having or showing a sharply critical quality; biting, caustic, incisive.\u201d The late 15th<\/sup> century source is a translated work by William Caxton. There are also some definitions involving not a person but a thing which is biting or caustic.<\/p>\n Today is Siblings Day. Didn\u2019t know? I\u2019m not surprised by that either.<\/p>\n Siblings Day was conceived by Claudia Evart, whose older brother and sister both died at relatively young ages. The Siblings Day Foundation website says this: \u201cAfter the tragic deaths of both siblings at young ages, Evart realized how important and precious sibling relationships are. She continues to share her personal memories of her siblings to inspire others to honor their siblings on National Siblings Day and throughout the year.\u201d<\/p>\n Unlike Mother\u2019s Day and Father\u2019s Day, Siblings Day is not an official national holiday. For it to become a national holiday, the President of the U.S. would have to make a presidential proclamation, and no president has yet done that. Bill Clinton gave a Presidential Message regarding Siblings Day in 2000, and George W. Bush did the same in 2008.<\/p>\n The Siblings Day Foundation, a 501c3 tax-exempt organization, has been pushing for Siblings Day to become a national holiday since 1997. There is even a change.org petition trying to get 200,000 signatures. On the other hand, there is another petition to make it Only Child and Siblings Day so that people who do not have any siblings will not feel left out by a National Siblings Day (and I\u2019m starting a change.com petition to combine Mother\u2019s Day and Father\u2019s Day into one day called National Parent\u2019s or Guardian\u2019s Day so that people without a mother or father or both will not feel left out; JK).<\/p>\n The Siblings Day Foundation suggests the following for celebrating the day: \u201cSiblings Day can be celebrated by sending a card or gift or making a dinner invitation to your siblings on April 10th as done on Mother\u2019s and Father\u2019s Day.\u00a0 This day does not necessarily have to be attached to a monetary gift.\u00a0 Individuals can do something special like a good deed or favor, errand or chore for their brother or sister\u201d (https:\/\/siblingsday.org\/fact-sheet<\/a>). I\u2019m afraid that, once again, I have dropped the ball on this Siblings Day, once again. Besides which, I am not sure how my siblings, of which I have four, two male and two female, would react if I followed the Foundation\u2019s advice. For one thing, the closest sibling is two and a half hours away, and the others are quite a bit further, so taking my sibling out to dinner is a non-starter. If I sent them a card, they would probably question its provenance. And I\u2019m also far too far away to do a chore for them.<\/p>\n