oil of vitriol
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of oil of vitriol
First recorded in 1570–80
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“You carried oil of vitriol knocking about in a sack? It is infinitely dangerous, my boy.”
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
I put a quantity of strong concentrated oil of vitriol to acid air, but it was not at all affected by it in a day and a night.
From Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air by Joseph Priestley
It may be dissolved in sulphuric acid or oil of vitriol, thereby making an indigo extract.
From Vegetable Dyes Being a Book of Recipes and Other Information Useful to the Dyer by Ethel M. Mairet
Into one I put oil of vitriol, into another tartar, into the third spirit of sal ammoniac, into the fourth spirit of salt, and into the fifth spirit of wine.
From Beggars on Horseback by F. Tennyson (Fryniwyd Tennyson) Jesse
To stain wood a fine black, drop a little oil of vitriol into a small quantity of water, rub it on the wood, and hold it to the fire.
From The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches, Adapted to the Use of Private Families by Mary Eaton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
