sulfate

[suhl-feyt]

noun

Chemistry. a salt or ester of sulfuric acid.

verb (used with object), sul·fat·ed, sul·fat·ing.

to combine, treat, or impregnate with sulfuric acid, a sulfate, or sulfates.

to convert into a sulfate.

Electricity. to form a deposit of lead-sulfate compound on (the lead electrodes of a storage battery).

verb (used without object), sul·fat·ed, sul·fat·ing.

to become sulfated.

Origin of sulfate

From the New Latin word sulphātum, dating back to 1780–90. See sulfur, -ate²

Related formssul·fa·tion, nounsu·per·sul·fate, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sulfate

Historical Examples of sulfate

And he was using Epsom salts—the sulfate, and magnesium citrate as laxatives.
Cum Grano Salis
Gordon Randall Garrett
Sulfate of alumina neutralizes one-third of its weight of caustic.
Soap-Making Manual
E. G. Thomssen
The most readily available nitrogen in commercial form is that which is afforded by nitrate of soda and sulfate of ammonia.
The Practical Garden-Book
C. E. Hunn
To accomplish this the sulfate should be suspended at the surface of the water in a bag.
Ginseng and Other Medicinal Plants
A. R. (Arthur Robert) Harding
It must be remembered that the sulfate of alumina is added only for the fresh lye put into the tank.
Soap-Making Manual
E. G. Thomssen

Word Origin and History for sulfate

1790 (sulphat), from French sulphate (1787), from Modern Latin sulphatum acidum, from Latin sulpur, sulphur (see sulfur) + chemical ending -ate (3). The spelling with -ph- is standard in Britain.

sulfate in Medicine