Adjacent Words

oil of vitriol definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: (H2SO4) a highly corrosive acid made from sulfur dioxide; widely used in the chemical industry [syn: vitriol, oil of vitriol, sulfuric acid, sulphuric acid]

Merriam Webster's

Date: 1580 concentrated sulfuric acid

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Vitriol Vit"ri*ol, n. [F. vitriol; cf. Pr. vitriol, vetriol, Sp. & Pg. vitriolo, It. vitriuolo; fr. L. vitreolus of glass, vitreus vitreous. See Vitreous.] (Chem.) (a) A sulphate of any one of certain metals, as copper, iron, zinc, cobalt. So called on account of the glassy appearance or luster. (b) Sulphuric acid; -- called also oil of vitriol. So called because first made by the distillation of green vitriol. See Sulphuric acid, under Sulphuric. [Colloq.] Blue vitriol. See under Blue. Green vitriol, ferrous sulphate; copperas. See under Green. Oil of vitriol, sulphuric or vitriolic acid; -- popularly so called because it has the consistency of oil. Red vitriol, a native sulphate of cobalt. Vitriol of Mars, ferric sulphate, a white crystalline substance which dissolves in water, forming a red solution. White vitriol, zinc sulphate, a white crystalline substance used in medicine and in dyeing. It is usually obtained by dissolving zinc in sulphuric acid, or by roasting and oxidizing certain zinc ores. Formerly called also vitriol of zinc.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Vitriol Vit"ri*ol, n. [F. vitriol; cf. Pr. vitriol, vetriol, Sp. & Pg. vitriolo, It. vitriuolo; fr. L. vitreolus of glass, vitreus vitreous. See Vitreous.] (Chem.) (a) A sulphate of any one of certain metals, as copper, iron, zinc, cobalt. So called on account of the glassy appearance or luster. (b) Sulphuric acid; -- called also oil of vitriol. So called because first made by the distillation of green vitriol. See Sulphuric acid, under Sulphuric. [Colloq.] Blue vitriol. See under Blue. Green vitriol, ferrous sulphate; copperas. See under Green. Oil of vitriol, sulphuric or vitriolic acid; -- popularly so called because it has the consistency of oil. Red vitriol, a native sulphate of cobalt. Vitriol of Mars, ferric sulphate, a white crystalline substance which dissolves in water, forming a red solution. White vitriol, zinc sulphate, a white crystalline substance used in medicine and in dyeing. It is usually obtained by dissolving zinc in sulphuric acid, or by roasting and oxidizing certain zinc ores. Formerly called also vitriol of zinc.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Oil gas, inflammable gas procured from oil, and used for lighting streets, houses, etc. Oil gland. (a) (Zo["o]l.) A gland which secretes oil; especially in birds, the large gland at the base of the tail. (b) (Bot.) A gland, in some plants, producing oil. Oil green, a pale yellowish green, like oil. Oil of brick, empyreumatic oil obtained by subjecting a brick soaked in oil to distillation at a high temperature, -- used by lapidaries as a vehicle for the emery by which stones and gems are sawn or cut. --Brande & C. Oil of talc, a nostrum made of calcined talc, and famous in the 17th century as a cosmetic. [Obs.] --B. Jonson. Oil of vitriol (Chem.), strong sulphuric acid; -- so called from its oily consistency and from its forming the vitriols or sulphates. Oil of wine, [OE]nanthic ether. See under [OE]nanthic. Oil painting. (a) The art of painting in oil colors. (b) Any kind of painting of which the pigments are originally ground in oil. Oil palm (Bot.), a palm tree whose fruit furnishes oil, esp. El[ae]is Guineensis. See El[ae]is. Oil sardine (Zo["o]l.), an East Indian herring (Clupea scombrina), valued for its oil. Oil shark (Zo["o]l.) (a) The liver shark. (b) The tope. Oil still, a still for hydrocarbons, esp. for petroleum. Oil test, a test for determining the temperature at which petroleum oils give off vapor which is liable to explode. Oil tree. (Bot.) (a) A plant of the genus Ricinus (R. communis), from the seeds of which castor oil is obtained. (b) An Indian tree, the mahwa. See Mahwa. (c) The oil palm. To burn the midnight oil, to study or work late at night. Volatle oils. See Essential oils, under Essential.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sulphuric Sul*phu"ric, a. [Cf. F. sulfurique.] 1. Of or pertaining to sulphur; as, a sulphuric smell. 2. (Chem.) Derived from, or containing, sulphur; specifically, designating those compounds in which the element has a higher valence as contrasted with the sulphurous compounds; as, sulphuric acid. Sulphuric acid. (a) Sulphur trioxide (see under Sulphur); -- formerly so called on the dualistic theory of salts. [Obs.] (b) A heavy, corrosive, oily liquid, H2SO4, colorless when pure, but usually yellowish or brownish, produced by the combined action of sulphur dioxide, oxygen (from the air), steam, and nitric fumes. It attacks and dissolves many metals and other intractable substances, sets free most acids from their salts, and is used in the manufacture of hydrochloric and nitric acids, of soda, of bleaching powders, etc. It is also powerful dehydrating agent, having a strong affinity for water, and eating and corroding paper, wood, clothing, etc. It is thus used in the manufacture of ether, of imitation parchment, and of nitroglycerin. It is also used in etching iron, in removing iron scale from forgings, in petroleum refining, etc., and in general its manufacture is the most important and fundamental of all the chemical industries. Formerly called vitriolic acid, and now popularly vitriol, and oil of vitriol. Fuming sulphuric acid, or Nordhausen sulphuric acid. See Disulphuric acid, under Disulphuric. Sulphuric anhydride, sulphur trioxide. See under Sulphur. Sulphuric ether, common an[ae]sthetic ether; -- so called because made by the catalytic action of sulphuric acid on alcohol. See Ether, 3 (a) .

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

Sulphuric acid, vitriolic acid.