Fizz Is the Sound Carbon Dioxide Makes Escaping
Fizz is the hissing of bubbles in a liquid. The word imitates exactly what it describes.
Fizz is the hissing produced by bubbles escaping from a liquid. The bubbles are carbon dioxide forced into the drink under pressure; opening the bottle drops the pressure and the gas comes out of solution. The sharpness of a fizzy drink is not only the bubbles — dissolved carbon dioxide forms carbonic acid, which the tongue registers as a mild sting. The word is imitative, recorded from the 1600s, and *fizzle out* originally meant to fail with a feeble hiss.
- A hissing of bubbles. *The fizz of soda.*
- To bubble. *The drink fizzed.*
- Fizzy — carbonated. *A fizzy drink.*
- Fizzle out — end feebly. *Fizzle out.*
- Imitative. *From the 1600s.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | fizz | Fizz. |
| Verb | fizz | Fizzing. |
| Adjective | fizzy | Fizzy. |
| Phrasal verb | fizzle out | Fizzle out. |
| Related | hiss | To hiss. |
- The bottle fizzed as it opened.Sound.
- A fizzy lemonade.Drink.
- The campaign fizzled out.Idiom.
Why fizzy drinks sting
- Carbon dioxide is dissolved under pressure
- Opening the bottle releases the pressure and the gas escapes
- Dissolved gas also forms carbonic acid in the liquid
- Nerve endings on the tongue register that acid as a sting
- So the sharpness is chemical as well as physical
Imitative, recorded from the 1600s, of the sound of escaping gas.
Why do fizzy drinks sting the tongue?
Dissolved carbon dioxide forms carbonic acid, which nerve endings register as a mild sting, alongside the physical bubbles.
Where does fizzle out come from?
From the sense of failing with a feeble hiss, as a damp firework might, rather than going off properly.