alkaline

alkaline

English

WOTD – 29 March 2009

Alternative forms

• alk.

Etymology

First attested in 1677. From alkali, ultimately from Arabic اَلْقِلْي‎ (al-qily, “alkali, ashes of the saltwort”), related to قَلَى‎ (qalā, “to roast in a pan, fry”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈæl.kəl.aɪn/
• (US) enPR: ălˈkəlīn, IPA^(key): /ˈæl.kə.laɪn/

• Audio (US)

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• Audio (AU)

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Adjective

alkaline (comparative more alkaline, superlative most alkaline)

1. Of, or relating to an alkali, one of a class of caustic bases.
   • 1913, James Campbell Brown, A History of Chemistry from the Earliest Times, page 279:

     [Joseph Black's] experiments on magnesia alba, quick lime, and other alkaline substances proved that "fixed air" is given off when limestone is burned, and that the same loss is incurred when it is dissolved in muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid).

2. (chemistry) Having a pH greater than 7.

Synonyms

• (chemistry): basic

Antonyms

• (chemistry): acidic

Derived terms

• alkaline air
• alkaline battery
• alkaline earth
• alkaline earth metal
• alkaline hydrolysis
• alkaline phosphatase
• alkalinity

 

Related terms

• alkalescent
• alkali
• alkaloid

Translations

of or relating to an alkali

Catalan: alcalí (ca) Czech: zásaditý Danish: alkalisk Esperanto: alkaleca Finnish: emäksinen (fi), alkalinen, alkali- (fi) French: alcalin (fr) Galician: alcalino Georgian: ტუტე (ṭuṭe), ტუტიანი (ṭuṭiani) German: alkalisch (de) Greek: αλκαλικός (el) m (alkalikós) Ancient: νιτρώδης (nitrṓdēs) Hungarian: alkáli (hu) Irish: alcaileach Italian: alcalino (it) Navajo: łeeyáán Polish: alkaliczny (pl) m Portuguese: alcalino (pt) Romanian: alcalin (ro) m or n Russian: щелочно́й (ru) (ščeločnój) Serbo-Croatian: lužnat (sh) m, lužnati m Slovak: zásaditý Spanish: alcalino (es) Swedish: alkalisk (sv) Telugu: క్షార (te) (kṣāra)

having a pH greater than 7

Arabic: قَاعِدَة‎ (ar) f (qāʿida) Catalan: alcalí (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 碱性 (zh) (jiǎnxìng) Czech: zásaditý Danish: alkalisk Esperanto: alkaleca Finnish: emäksinen (fi), alkalinen French: basique (fr) m German: alkalisch (de) Greek: αλκαλικός (el) m (alkalikós) Hungarian: alkalikus (hu), lúgos (hu), bázikus (hu) Irish: alcaileach Korean: 알칼리성 (ko) (alkalliseong), 염기성 (ko) (yeomgiseong) Navajo: díkʼǫ́ǫ́zh Polish: alkaliczny (pl) m, zasadowy (pl) Portuguese: alcalino (pt) Slovak: zásaditý Spanish: alcalino (es) Swedish: alkalisk (sv), basisk (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Serbo-Croatian: (please verify) alkaličan

Noun

alkaline (plural alkalines)

1. An alkaline battery.

Further reading

• alkaline at OneLook Dictionary Search

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Italian

Adjective

alkaline f

1. feminine plural of alkalino