spirit of hartshorn

or spirits of hartshorn

noun Chemistry.

a colorless, pungent, suffocating, aqueous solution of about 28.5 percent ammonia gas: used chiefly as a detergent, for removing stains and extracting certain vegetable coloring agents, and in the manufacture of ammonium salts.

Origin of spirit of hartshorn

First recorded in 1675–85

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

British Dictionary definitions for spirits of hartshorn

spirits of hartshorn

noun

(functioning as singular or plural) another name for aqueous ammoniaSee ammonium hydroxide

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