Seidlitz powder

Seidlitz powders

noun

a laxative consisting of two powders, tartaric acid and a mixture of sodium bicarbonate and Rochelle salt (sodium potassium tartrate)Also called: Rochelle powder

Word Origin for Seidlitz powder

C19: named after Seidlitz, a village in Bohemia with mineral springs having similar laxative effects

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

Examples from the Web for seidlitz powder

Historical Examples of seidlitz powder

He handed me out a little flat thing like a seidlitz-powder.
The Plattner Story and Others
H. G. Wells
“Devilish good—devilish good,” said the Seidlitz-powder man.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, v. 1(of 2)
Charles Dickens
Seidlitz-powder functions they were called, but the recipients of both blue and white went for all the disturbing elements.
The Awful Australian
Valerie Desmond

seidlitz powder in Medicine

Seidlitz powder

A mixture of tartaric acid, sodium bicarbonate, and potassium sodium tartrate, used as a mild cathartic by dissolving in water and drinking.