alkali

Forms

alkali (indeclinable noun)^[1] Köbler also records the spellings alzali, alkale and chali.^[2] Du Cange refers it to the spelling alcali.^[3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Arabic.^[4][2][5] Etymonline explains the Arabic word as “the ashes”, the burnt ashes of saltwort, formed with the article ⟨al-⟩ from a verb meaning “to roast in a pan”;^[5] Köbler glosses it as potash or ash salt and compares the same verb.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates its first record to about 1215.^[2] The DMLBS defines it as soda or alkali and quotes Michael Scot, who writes that sal alkali makes other salts coagulate and is made from a salty herb found by the sea.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It belonged to the vocabulary of medicine and alchemy: Gilbert has salis alzali, and Bacon purifies lime with waters of alkali.^[4] A glossary describes it as a small stone of salt drawn out of burnt lime by moisture and hardened when the moisture is driven off.^[4] In Hungary it is a salt extracted from ashes, soda, priced in a record of 1522.^[1] English took it from Medieval Latin in the late 14th century for soda ash; the chemical sense dates from 1813.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1215 – Köbler's first record.^[2]
• late 14th century – English borrows it for soda ash.^[5]
• 1522 – A Hungarian record prices sal alkali.^[1]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin) soda, alkali: a salt obtained from the ashes of plants.^[4][1]

Usage notes

It is mostly found in the phrase sal alkali, “salt of alkali”.^[4][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
2. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
3. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
4. ^ a b c d e f 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
5. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com