aqua fortis

American  

noun

Chemistry.

1. nitric acid.

---

aqua fortis British  

/ ˈfɔːtɪs /

noun

1. an obsolete name for nitric acid

---

Etymology

Origin of aqua fortis

1595–1605; < Latin: literally, strong water

Example Sentences

The life of metals is a secret fatness; of salts, the spirit of aqua fortis; of pearls, their splendour; of marcasites and antimony, a tingeing metalline spirit; of arsenics, a mineral and coagulated poison.

From Heroes of Science Chemists by Muir, M. M. Pattison (Matthew Moncrieff Pattison)

The terms aqua fortis and aqua regia had come into use prior to Agricola, but he does not use them; the Alchemists used various terms, often aqua dissolvia.

From De Re Metallica, Translated from the First Latin Edition of 1556 by Agricola, Georgius

Upon one occasion, while bronzing a piece of rubber cloth, he applied aqua fortis to it for the purpose of removing part of the bronze.

From Inventors by Hubert, Philip Gengembre

Dissolve chalk in aqua fortis, to the consistence of milk, and add to that a strong solution of silver.

From Endless Amusement A Collection of Nearly 400 Entertaining Experiments by Unknown

Various reagents, including glass-gall, litharge, salt, iron filings, lead, "alkali", talc, argol, saltpetre, sal-ammoniac, alum, vitriol, lime, sulphur, antimony, aqua fortis, or scheidwasser, etc., are made use of.

From De Re Metallica, Translated from the First Latin Edition of 1556 by Agricola, Georgius