saltpetre

Speech parts

1. saltpetre - Noun

2. saltpetre - Verb

Meaning

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.

Source: Webster's dictionary

Synonyms

niter potassium nitrate nitre saltpeter nitrate of potash chemical nitrate curing formaldehyde preservative caliche vinegar sodium nitrate chemical compound nitric
Show all synonyms

Hypernyms

nitrate

Phrases with the word

chilean saltpetre

Anagrams

saltpeter tetraples perestlat

Examples

Proportions by weight are 75% potassium nitrate (known as saltpeter or saltpetre), 15% softwood charcoal, and 10% sulfur. Source: Internet

": Matchlocks, Flintlocks, and Saltpetre: The Chronological Implications for the Use of Matchlock Muskets among Ottoman-Period Bedouin in the Southern Levant." Source: Internet

Saltpetre trade Saltpetre used for gunpowder was one of the major trade goods of the company. Source: Internet

Saltpetre was known to the Chinese by the mid-1st century AD and there is strong evidence of the use of saltpetre and sulfur in various largely medicine combinations. Source: Internet

The reaction was between melted saltpetre and acetic acid which produced a red vapor. Source: Internet

Close letter words and terms

Saltos saltpan saltpeter saltpetrous Saltpond saltproof