niter
noun
Forms niters nitre
- noun (US, inorganic chemistry) A mineral form of potassium nitrate (saltpetre) used in making gunpowder.
- noun (obsolete) Native sodium carbonate; natron.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English niter, nitere, nitre, nytre, from Old French nitre, from Latin nitrum (“native soda, natron”), from Ancient Greek νίτρον (nítron). Ultimately from Egyptian nṯrj (“natron”). Doublet of natron and trona. Compare also natrium, nitrogen. Compare reconstructed Proto-Germanic *lauþrą (“nitre”) related to Modern English lye.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A white crystalline semitransparent salt; potassium nitrate; saltpeter. See Saltpeter.
- noun Native sodium carbonate; natron. [Obs.]
Etymology [F. nitre, L. nitrum native soda, natron, Gr. nit, natr natron. Cf. Natron.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “niter”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details