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

Siegel and his associates incubated the soil in a hostile ammoniac atmosphere, and fed it with a nutrient broth.

From Time Magazine Archive

Tiring of field and flock, in 1768 he moved to Edinburgh, where he founded a successful business producing sal ammoniac from coal soot, and busied himself with various scientific pursuits.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson