- Saltpetre
- Saltpeter Salt`pe"ter, Saltpetre Salt`pe"tre,, n. [F.
salp[^e]tre, NL. sal petrae, literally, rock salt, or stone
salt; so called because it exudes from rocks or walls. See
{Salt}, and {Petrify}.] (Chem.)
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.
[1913 Webster]
{Chili salpeter} (Chem.), sodium nitrate (distinguished from potassium nitrate, or true salpeter), a white crystalline substance, {NaNO3}, having a cooling, saline, slightly bitter taste. It is obtained by leaching the soil of the rainless districts of Chili and Peru. It is deliquescent and cannot be used in gunpowder, but is employed in the production of nitric acid. Called also {cubic niter}.
{Saltpeter acid} (Chem.), nitric acid; -- sometimes so called because made from saltpeter. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
