Potash
//ˈpɑt.æʃ// name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The water-soluble part of wood ash, used for making soap and glass and as a fertilizer (chemically speaking, an impure form of potassium carbonate (K₂CO₃) mixed with other potassium salts). countable, uncountable
- 2 a potassium compound often used in agriculture and industry wordnet
- 3 Potassium. Chiefly used in the names of compounds of the form "... of potash". archaic, countable, uncountable
"permanganate of potash"
- 4 A class of potassium minerals, of similar applicability to potassium carbonate, such as being a fertilizer. (ie. potassium chloride, potassium hydroxide) countable, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To treat with potassium.
"In order to ascertain the difference between the rapidity of pickling when the tin frames had been potashed and pickling without such treatment, two batches were used."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
More examples"These are the locations where potash is being mined today."
Etymology
From pot + ash, because the substance was originally obtained by leaching ash in water and then boiling down the resulting solution in a pot. Compare Dutch potas, German Pottasche.
Related phrases
More for "potash"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.