aqua fortis

noun Chemistry.

nitric acid.

Nearby words

aqaba, aqmola, aqtöbe, aqua, aqua ammoniae, aqua fortis, aqua pura, aqua regia, aqua vitae, aqua-, aqua-lung

Origin of aqua fortis

1595–1605; < Latin: literally, strong water

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for aqua fortis

The combs are first dipped in aqua-fortis, and then covered with a paste made of lime, pearlash, and red lead.
Popular Technology, Vol. I (of 2)|Edward Hazen
This is my experience, after this time, we could never find the like Aqua-fortis.
The Golden Calf, Which the World Adores, and Desires|John Frederick Helvetius
We are told that some aqua-fortis having fallen by accident upon his spectacles, the glass was corroded by it.
The Queer, the Quaint and the Quizzical|Frank H. Stauffer
He has a forehead of native brass, and I will write upon it with aqua-fortis.
The Modern Scottish Minstrel, Volume II.|Various

How the simperers would sheer off; the tea that night might as well be made of aqua-fortis.
Charlemont|W. Gilmore Simms

British Dictionary definitions for aqua fortis

aqua fortis

/ (ˈfɔːtɪs) /

noun

an obsolete name for nitric acid

Word Origin for aqua fortis

C17: from Latin, literally: strong water

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012