saltpetre : Idioms & Phrases
Index
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 alsocubic niter .
Webster 1913
Saltpeter acid
(Chem.) , nitric acid; sometimes so called because made from saltpeter.