Saltpetre

//ˈsɔːltpiːtə(ɹ)// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Potassium nitrate. uncountable, usually
  2. 2
    (KNO3) used especially as a fertilizer and explosive wordnet
  3. 3
    Sodium nitrate. uncommon, uncountable, usually
Verb
  1. 1
    To treat with saltpetre. transitive

Synonyms

All synonyms
niternitrepotassium nitratepotassium nitratecalcium nitratecaliche

Etymology

From Middle English saltpetre, alteration of Old French salpetre, from Medieval Latin sāl petrae (“salt of the rock”), named so being found as an incrustation. Alteration of the first element is from folk-etymological association with salt (which is, nevertheless, cognate to Latin sāl).

Related phrases

Chile saltpetreChilean saltpetreNorway salpetrepotassium nitratesodium nitrate

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.