saltpetre

US saltpeter

/ (ˌsɔːltˈpiːtə) /

noun

another name for potassium nitrate
short for Chile saltpetre

Origin of saltpetre

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

Words Nearby saltpetre

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

How to use saltpetre in a sentence

Although there are veins of metal in Maranham, they have never been worked; but some saltpetre-works have been established there.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil | Maria Graham
Thou who didst teach weak men and those who suffer To mix saltpetre and sulphur,Have pity on my long misery!
Charles Baudelaire, His Life | Thophile Gautier
From Scotland would come all the saltpetre which would furnish the means of war to the fleets and armies of contending potentates.
The History of England from the Accession of James II. | Thomas Babington Macaulay
Two ounces of raw sugar must be mixed with an ounce of common salt and half a spoonful of saltpetre.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, Vol. 13, Issue 372, Saturday, May 30, 1829 | Various
Having moved our camp to a position north-westward of the town, we discovered a saltpetre manufactory for the use of the rebels.
Recollections of Thirty-nine Years in the Army | Charles Alexander Gordon

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