sal volatile

[sal voh-lat-l-ee]

See more synonyms for sal volatile on Thesaurus.com

noun

an aromatic alcoholic solution of ammonium carbonate, the chief ingredient in smelling salts.

Origin of sal volatile

1645–55; < New Latin: volatile salt

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for sal volatile

Methedrine, hartshorn

Examples from the Web for sal volatile

Historical Examples of sal volatile

He was drinking a dose of sal-volatile, and admiring its opal tint.
The Napoleon of Notting Hill
Gilbert K. Chesterton
I actually wound up by administering some sal-volatile to her.'
Robert Elsmere
Mrs. Humphry Ward
He had some sal-volatile in his dressing-case, and he made her take it.
The Soul Stealer
Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull
But come upstairs, Annie; I must get you some sal-volatile at once.
The Girls of St. Wode's
L. T. Meade
She sipped the sal-volatile, and gave him a dim, crooked smile.
Non-combatants and Others
Rose Macaulay

British Dictionary definitions for sal volatile

sal volatile

noun

another name for ammonium carbonate
Also called: spirits of ammonia, (archaic) hartshorn a solution of ammonium carbonate in alcohol and aqueous ammonia, often containing aromatic oils, used as smelling salts

Word Origin for sal volatile

C17: from New Latin: volatile salt

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for sal volatile

1650s, Modern Latin, literally "volatile salt" (see salt (n.) + volatile); ammonium carbonate, especially as used in reviving persons who have fainted.