Saltpetre
[,sɔlt'pitɚ]
Definition
(n.) Potassium nitrate; niter; a white crystalline substance, KNO3, having a cooling saline taste, obtained by leaching from certain soils in which it is produced by the process of nitrification (see Nitrification, 2). It is a strong oxidizer, is the chief constituent of gunpowder, and is also used as an antiseptic in curing meat, and in medicine as a diuretic, diaphoretic, and refrigerant.
Typed by Borg
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [Written also Saltpeter.] Nitre, nitrate of potash.
Typed by Keller
Definition
n. the commercial name for nitre.—adj. Saltpē′trous.
Typist: Shelley
Examples
- To this brine would be added a little sugar and saltpetre, and, after packing the meat the same as in the other case, enough of this brine would be added to entirely cover the meat. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Gunpowder consists of about 75 parts of saltpetre (nitrate of potash), 15 of charcoal, and 10 of sulphur, the proportions varying somewhat with the use to which it is to be applied. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- The grains are afterward saturated with saltpetre. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- The top of the meat was sprinkled with sugar and saltpetre. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
Typed by Ferris