potassium bromide

American  

noun

Chemistry.

1. a white, crystalline, water-soluble powder, KBr, having a bitter saline taste: used chiefly in the manufacture of photographic papers and plates, in engraving, and in medicine as a sedative.

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potassium bromide British  

noun

1. a white crystalline soluble substance with a bitter saline taste used in making photographic papers and plates and in medicine as a sedative. Formula: KBr

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Etymology

Origin of potassium bromide

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

potassium bromide

Some bromide salts, notably potassium bromide, were found to be natural sedatives, and were prescribed in the 19th Century as a remedy for epilepsy.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2014

As an example of those which produce moderate physiological depression, potassium bromide may be mentioned, and this also diminishes electric response.

From Response in the Living and Non-Living by Sir Jagadis Chandra Bose

If it occur early in the disease, it will generally be sufficient to prescribe at bedtime ten grains each of potassium bromide and chloral, repeated once or twice during the night.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various

Some advertisers condemn all the bromides, and prescribe a mixture of them; others condemn potassium bromide, and shamelessly forward a pure solution of this same salt in water as a "positive cure!"

From Epilepsy, Hysteria, and Neurasthenia Their Causes, Symptoms, & Treatment by Isaac George Briggs

Stas and C. Marignac from the analysis of potassium bromide, and of silver bromide.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3 "Brescia" to "Bulgaria" by Various