lead acetate

American  

[led] / lɛd /

noun

Chemistry.

1. a white, crystalline, water-soluble, poisonous solid, Pb(C 2 H 3 O2 ) 2 ⋅3H 2 O, used chiefly as a mordant in dyeing and printing textiles and as a drier in paints and varnishes.

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lead acetate British  

/ lɛd /

noun

1. Systematic name: lead(II) acetate.  Also called: sugar of lead.  a white crystalline toxic solid used in dyeing cotton and in making varnishes and enamels. Formula: Pb(CH 3 CO) 2

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lead acetate Scientific  

1. A poisonous, white crystalline compound used in hair dyes, waterproofing compounds, and varnishes. Chemical formula: C ₄ H ₆ O ₄ Pb.

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Etymology

Origin of lead acetate

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

In addition, Roman aristocrats used lead cooking vessels, lead water pipes and even added lead acetate into their wine to sweeten it -- unwittingly poisoning themselves with the powerful neurotoxin.

From Science Daily • Jan. 31, 2024

However, it was brewed in kettles or pots lined with lead, which produced lead acetate, also known as "salt of Saturn" or "lead sugar."

From Salon • Mar. 13, 2023

The other would be lead acetate, an ingredient used in men’s hair dye.

From New York Times • Apr. 20, 2015

Over the centuries, lead acetate was often used as a wine sweetener, something that probably killed Pope Clement II in 1047, and possibly Beethoven 800 years later.

From Forbes • Jan. 16, 2015

The “hair dyes,” advertised under so many different names, contain such poisons as nitrate of silver, oxide of lead, acetate of lead, and sulphate of copper. 

From Lights and Shadows of New York Life or, the Sights and Sensations of the Great City by McCabe, James Dabney