noun In the tobacco industry, a white saline efflorescence on the midvein and lateral ribs of the curing leaf, consisting usually of a mixture of several salts, sometimes with only a trace of saltpeter. It is thought to be developed by dry weather during the first stages of curing.
noun A salt called also niter and, in chemical nomenclature, potassium nitrate, or nitrate of potash. See niter.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
noun (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.
noun (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.
noun (Chem.) nitric acid; -- sometimes so called because made from saltpeter.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
noun US Alternative spelling of saltpetre.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
noun (KNO3) used especially as a fertilizer and explosive
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[Middle English salpetre, from Old French, from Medieval Latin sālpetrae : Latin sāl, salt; see sal- in Indo-European roots + Latin petrae, genitive of petra, rock (from Greek petrā; see per- in Indo-European roots).]
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The American Heritage Dictionary says saltpeter is either potassium nitrate (used for curing meats) or sodium nitrate.
Nitrogen also occurs in nature in the form of potassium nitrate (KNO_ {3}) -- commonly called saltpeter or niter -- as well as in sodium nitrate (NaNO_ {3}).
All the recipes I saw called for saltpeter, which is impossible to find because it’s also used to make explosives (and I did not know this so that might explain all the strange looks I got from shopkeepers when I asked if they stocked it).
All the recipes I saw called for saltpeter, which is impossible to find because it’s also used to make explosives (and I did not know this so that might explain all the strange looks I got from shopkeepers when I asked if they stocked it).
kewpid commented on the word saltpeter
Salt 'n' pepper, together at last!
June 2, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word saltpeter
Also spelled saltpetre.
October 14, 2008