ammoniac

American  

[uh-moh-nee-ak] / əˈmoʊ niˌæk /

noun

1. Also ammoniacum gum ammoniac.

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adjective

1. ammoniacal.

ammoniac ¹ British  

/ əˈməʊnɪˌæk /

adjective

1. a variant of ammoniacal

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ammoniac ² British  

/ əˈməʊnɪˌæk /

noun

1. Also called: gum ammoniac.  a strong-smelling gum resin obtained from the stems of the N Asian umbelliferous plant Dorema ammoniacum and formerly used as an expectorant, stimulant, perfume, and in porcelain cement

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Etymology

Origin of ammoniac

1375–1425; late Middle English armoniac, ammoniak < Latin ammōniacum < Greek ammōniakón (neuter of ammōniakós of Ammon; see -i-, -ac), applied to a salt and a gum resin prepared near the Shrine of Ammon in Libya

Example Sentences

This is pretty much what Arsenal’s back three seem like: confused, fumbling, spreading across the chest like a hot, sweet flush of ammoniac regret.

From The Guardian • May 5, 2017

Their excrement and the shavings of what they chew form an ammoniac bedding called frass.

From Washington Times • Nov. 2, 2014

The change is stark, immediate: darkness, shin-high water, a dull ammoniac funk.

From New York Times • Jan. 2, 2011

Even before the first ammoniac whiffs of disorder drifted down from Peking in February 1966, the students at Canton's elite Kaochung Middle School, Dai writes, had been taught to believe in dramatic solutions.

From Time Magazine Archive

Ah, yes, certainly she would go at once—her case was not locked—and she would take with her some sal ammoniac.

From "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie