alcali

Forms

alcali n (indeclinable)^[1] Also spelled alkali.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Arabic القلي (al-qily, “alkali, ashes of the saltwort”).^[1][3] Etymonline explains the Arabic as “the ashes” of saltwort, from a verb meaning to roast in a pan.^[4] Du Cange describes it as a chemists' word made by the Arabs from the name of a plant with the Arabic article.^[2] It is the source of English alkali.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the medieval British sources it first appears in Michael Scot's Lumen luminum, meaning soda or alkali, a salt made from a plant that grows by the sea.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Medieval writers used it in recipes and for the salt drawn from ashes: Roger Bacon advises purifying lime with aquae alkali, and a later glossary describes it as a salt extracted from burnt lime.^[3] Du Cange quotes Rochus le Baillif's alchemical dictionary, which defines it as the salt extracted from the ashes of any body.^[2] It continued in New Latin chemistry.^[1]

Timeline

• late 14th century – English borrows it as alkali in the sense of soda ash.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin) soda, alkali, a salt obtained from plant ashes.^[3][2]
2. (New Latin, chemistry) Alkali.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
3. ^ a b c d e Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com