pyroligneous acid

American  

noun

Chemistry.

1. a yellowish, acidic, water-soluble liquid, containing about 10 percent acetic acid, obtained by the destructive distillation of wood: used for smoking meats.

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pyroligneous acid British  

noun

1. Also called: wood vinegar.  the crude reddish-brown acidic liquid obtained by the distillation of wood and containing acetic acid, methanol, and acetone

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Etymology

Origin of pyroligneous acid

First recorded in 1780–90

Example Sentences

But two may be made to answer by the use of what is called "liquid smoke" whose other name is crude pyroligneous acid.

From Dishes & Beverages of the Old South by McCulloch-Williams, Martha

Before reaching the exhaustor, however, they pass through a cooler in which a quantity of tar and pyroligneous acid is collected.

From Peat and its Uses as Fertilizer and Fuel by Johnson, Samuel W. (Samuel William)

By these means the juices are abstracted by the salt, and at the same time the flesh is contracted and hardened by the action of creosote and pyroligneous acid from the smoke.

From Science in the Kitchen. by Kellogg, Mrs. E. E.

Rogers furthermore told us that the doctor "cured" his heads in a smoke-box, and had "a regular chemist's shop" in which were a number of large bottles of pyroligneous acid, prepared by a London firm.

From The Call Of The South 1908 by Becke, Louis

To prevent these injuries so hurtful to commerce the employment of different substances should be tried such as pyroligneous acid, the chloride of lime, the bichloride of mercury.

From Movement of the International Literary Exchanges, between France and North America from January 1845 to May, 1846 With Instructions for Collecting, Preparing, and Forwarding Objects of Natural History Written by The Professors Administrators of The Museum Of Natural History At Paris. And Instructions Relative to Anthropology and Zoology by Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Isidore