saltpeter

or salt·pe·tre

[sawlt-pee-ter]

noun

the form of potassium nitrate, KNO3, that occurs naturally, used in the manufacture of fireworks, fluxes, gunpowder, etc.; niter.
Chile saltpeter.

Origin of saltpeter

1275–1325; earlier salt peter; replacing Middle English sal peter, salpetre < Medieval Latin salpetrē, for Latin sal petrae salt of rock, so called because it commonly encrusts stones

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

Examples from the Web for saltpetre

Historical Examples of saltpetre

Lay the head into water one night, then drain it, salt it extremely well with common salt and saltpetre, and let it lie five days.
The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches,
Mary Eaton
Gunpowder was also made with saltpetre and sulphur found in the country.
In the Forbidden Land
Arnold Henry Savage Landor
This is principally due to the saltpetre with which it is impregnated.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce
E. R. Billings.
What proportion of nitre does the saltpetre of the nitrate caves afford?
James Cutbush
Edgar F. Smith
There was a smell in his nostrils like charring wool and saltpetre.
The Dop Doctor
Clotilde Inez Mary Graves

British Dictionary definitions for saltpetre

saltpetre

US saltpeter

noun

another name for potassium nitrate
short for Chile saltpetre

Word Origin for saltpetre

C16: from Old French salpetre, from Latin sal petrae salt of rock

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 saltpetre

chiefly British English spelling of saltpeter (q.v.); for ending, see -re.

saltpeter

"potassium nitrate," c.1500, earlier salpetre (early 14c.), from Old French salpetre, from Medieval Latin sal petrae "salt of rock," from Latin sal "salt" (see salt (n.)) + petra "rock, stone" (see petrous). So called because it looks like salt encrusted on rock.

saltpetre in Science

saltpeter

[sôlt′pē′tər]

See potassium nitrate.