double salt

noun

Chemistry.

1. a salt that crystallizes as a single substance but ionizes as two distinct salts when dissolved, as carnallite, KMgCl 3 ⋅6H 2 O.

double salt

noun

1. a solid solution of two simple salts formed by crystallizing a solution of the two salts Compare complex salt

double salt

1. A salt that crystallizes from an aqueous solution of a mixture of two different ions. The mineral dolomite (CaMg(CO ₃) ₂), for example, is a double salt that crystallizes from a solution containing both calcium and magnesium ions. Double salts exist only as solids.

2. Compare complex salt simple salt

Word History and Origins

Origin of double salt¹

First recorded in 1840–50