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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pyroligneous acid

Confectioners use pyroligneous acid instead of lemon-juice, and there is no objection to it in small quantities.

From Nelson's Home Comforts Thirteenth Edition by Mary Hooper

Creosote, like carbolic acid, is a powerful antiseptic, and readily coagulates albuminous matter; wood-smoke and pyroligneous acid or wood-vinegar owe to its presence their efficacy in preserving animal and vegetable substances from putrefaction.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 6 "Coucy-le-Château" to "Crocodile" by Various

Wood is distilled partly for the sake of the pyroligneous acid and the tar, partly for the charcoal.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia Volume 4, Part 1: Deposition to Eberswalde by Various

The ancient Peruvians appear to have injected and washed the corpses with a fluid that flows from imperfectly burned wood, in which pyroligneous acid, creosote, and other antiseptics are present.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia Volume 4, Part 2: Ebert to Estremadura by Various

In London, an imitation of them is made by washing the fish over with pyroligneous acid, and hanging it up in a dry place for a few days.

From The Book of Household Management by Mrs. (Isabella Mary) Beeton

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