noun · countable / uncountable · rare

niter

niter · niters

A mineral form of potassium nitrate used in making gunpowderA mineral form of potassium nitrate (saltpetre) used in making gunpowder.

» To go from the city of Rio to Niterói, you can take a boat.

Meaning

2 senses

(US, countable, uncountable)A mineral form of potassium nitrate (saltpetre) used in making gunpowder.
(countable, obsolete, uncountable)Native sodium carbonate; natron.

More definitions

(KNO3) used especially as a fertilizer and explosive

Examples

1 sentences

To go from the city of Rio to Niterói, you can take a boat.
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Origin

From Middle English niter, nitere, nitre, nytre, from Old French nitre, from Latin nitrum

From Middle English niter, nitere, nitre, nytre, from Old French nitre, from Latin nitrum (“native soda, natron”), from Ancient Greek νίτρον (nítron). Ultimately from Egyptian nṯrj (“natron”). Doublet of natron and trona. Compare also natrium, nitrogen. Compare reconstructed Proto-Germanic *lauþrą (“nitre”) related to Modern English lye.

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