aqua regia

[ ree-jee-uh ]

/ ˈri dʒi ə /

Save This Word!

noun Chemistry.

a yellow, fuming liquid composed of one part nitric acid and three to four parts hydrochloric acid: used chiefly to dissolve metals as gold, platinum, or the like.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Also called nitrohydrochloric acid.

Origin of aqua regia

1600–10; <New Latin: literally, royal water

Words nearby aqua regia

aquaphobia, aquaplane, aquaponics, aquaporin, aqua pura, aqua regia, aquarelle, Aquarian, Aquarids, aquarist, aquarium

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use aqua regia in a sentence

Neither this acid nor the nitrous will dissolve gold or platina; but a mixture of them, called aqua regia, will do it.
Heads of Lectures on a Course of Experimental Philosophy: Particularly Including Chemistry|Joseph Priestley
Platina is precipitated from a solution in aqua regia by sal-ammoniac, as gold is by martial vitriol.
Heads of Lectures on a Course of Experimental Philosophy: Particularly Including Chemistry|Joseph Priestley
It is soluble in the vitriolic or marine acids, and reduced to a yellow calx by nitrous acid or aqua regia.
Heads of Lectures on a Course of Experimental Philosophy: Particularly Including Chemistry|Joseph Priestley
When solutions in aqua regia are evaporated, chlorides are left.
A Textbook of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines.|Cornelius Beringer and John Jacob Beringer

It is used with hydrochloric acid as a substitute for aqua regia.
A Textbook of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines.|Cornelius Beringer and John Jacob Beringer

British Dictionary definitions for aqua regia

aqua regia

/ (ˈriːdʒɪə) /

noun

a yellow fuming corrosive mixture of one part nitric acid and three to four parts hydrochloric acid, used in metallurgy for dissolving metals, including goldAlso called: nitrohydrochloric acid

Word Origin for aqua regia

C17: from New Latin: royal water; referring to its use in dissolving gold, the royal metal

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

Scientific definitions for aqua regia

aqua regia

[ rē′jē-ə, rē′jə ]

A corrosive, fuming, volatile mixture of hydrochloric and nitric acids. Aqua regia is used for testing metals and dissolving platinum and gold.