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
Arsenic is found in crude oil of vitriol, and occasionally in products such as grape-sugar, beer, &c., in the manufacture of which oil of vitriol is employed.
From The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 2 Amiel to Atrauli by Various
As was mentioned in the chapter on Bones, Liebig in the year 1840 discovered that the effect of adding oil of vitriol, or sulphuric acid, to bones was to render the phosphate they contain soluble.
From Manures and the principles of manuring by Aikman, Charles Morton
Sulphur is also used in the preparation of gunpowder and oil of vitriol, and in the manufacture of matches and cultivation of the vine.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 647, May 26, 1888 by Various
The common ester—ethyl acetate—is a volatile colourless liquid, manufactured by distilling a mixture of alcohol, oil of vitriol, and acetic acid, and used for flavouring purposes.
From The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 1 A to Amide by Various
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.
