aqua fortis

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See also: aquafortis

English

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Alternative forms

Etymology

From Latin aqua fortis (literally strong water).

Noun

aqua fortis (uncountable)

  1. (inorganic chemistry, archaic) Nitric acid.
  2. (alchemy) A corrosive liquor made of saltpeter, serving as a solvent for dissolving silver and all other metals except gold.
  3. (dialectal, dated) Any strong and potentially dangerous alcoholic drink.
    • 1867 December 25, “Police Reports”, in New Orleans Picayune:
      this man’s whiskey ain’t Red Eye, it ain’t Chain Lightnin’ either, it’s regular Agur-forty, and there isn’t a man living can stand a glass and keep his senses.
    • 1871 September 9, “Occasional Notes”, in The Temperance Record, number 805, page 422:
      “Watkey” [vodka] is, in fact, aquafortis, and more injurious than any other spirit.
    • 1896, W. C. Brann, Brann, the Iconoclast, volume 1, page 390:
      Doubtless the drinking of liquor adds to the cost of our judiciary; doubtless it is responsible for some crime; but the question at issue is not one of liquor-drinking vs. teetotalism—it is a question of drinking licensed liquor or Prohibition aquafortis.
    • 1917, Harvard College Class of 1872: Tenth Report of the Secretary, page 97:
      Here’s to her health and to her offspring haughty —
      And let the toast be drunk in aqua forty.
    • 1990, Graham Masterton, Empress, page 166:
      I’m in the best of spirits, the very best! Nothing like a few glasses of agur-forty to make a man feel on top of the world!

Derived terms

Translations

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Further reading

References

Latin

Etymology

aqua (water) +‎ fortis (strong). From being a liquid capable of dissolving metals

Noun

aqua fortis

  1. aqua fortis
    1. (alchemy) a saltpeter-water solution
    2. (archaic, chemistry) nitric acid

Coordinate terms

Descendants

  • English: aqua fortis