potash

potash

See also: Potash

English

Etymology

Calque of Dutch potas, coined in 1598, equivalent to pot +‎ ash. The literal translation is “pot ash”, because it was made by burning wood to ashes in a large pot. First attested in 1648. Doublet of potassium and potassa.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpɒt.æʃ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈpɑt.æʃ/
• Rhymes: -æʃ

  • Audio (UK)

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Noun

potash (countable and uncountable, plural potashes)

1. The water-soluble part of the ash formed by burning plant material; used for making soap and glass and as a fertilizer.
2. (chemistry) An impure form of potassium carbonate (K₂CO₃) mixed with other potassium salts.
3. (chemistry, archaic) Potassium. Chiefly used in the names of compounds of the form "... of potash".

   permanganate of potash ― potassium permanganate

4. A class of potassium minerals, of similar applicability to potassium carbonate, such as being a fertilizer. (ie. potassium chloride, potassium hydroxide)

Derived terms

• acetate of potash
• carbonate of potash
• caustic potash
• chlorate of potash
• chromate of potash
• citrate of potash
• iridiate of potash
• manganate of potash
• muriate of potash
• nitrate of potash
• osmiate of potash
• oxygenated muriate of potash
• permanganate of potash
• plumbate of potash
• potash alum
• potashery
• potash-felspar
• potash-granite
• potash greensand
• potash kettle
• potash-lime
• potash-mica
• potash-water
• silicate of potash
• stannate of potash
• stannite of potash
• sulfate of potash, sulphate of potash
• sulfurated potash, sulphurated potash

 

Related terms

• potass
• potassa
• potassium

 

Translations

pot ash: the water-soluble part of the ash formed by burning plant material; used for making soap and glass and as a fertilizer

Albanian: please add this translation if you can Arabic: قِلْو‎ m (qilw), قِلْي‎ m (qily), أُشْنَان‎ m (ʾušnān), بُوتَاس‎ m (būtās) Armenian: please add this translation if you can Burmese: ပြဆား (my) (pra.hca:), ပိုတက် (my) (puitak) Catalan: potassa f Crimean Tatar: please add this translation if you can Czech: potaš (cs) f Danish: potaske c Dutch: potas (nl) Esperanto: please add this translation if you can Estonian: please add this translation if you can Finnish: potaska (fi) French: potasse (fr) f Georgian: please add this translation if you can German: Pottasche (de) f Gujarati: please add this translation if you can Hindi: please add this translation if you can Hungarian: hamuzsír Italian: potassa (it) f Khmer: ក្បុង (km) (kbong) Lao: please add this translation if you can Latvian: please add this translation if you can Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can Norwegian: Bokmål: pottaske m or f Nynorsk: pottoske f Ottoman Turkish: قالیه‎ (kalya) Polish: potaż (pl) m Portuguese: potassa (pt) f Romanian: please add this translation if you can Russian: пота́ш (ru) m (potáš) Slovak: please add this translation if you can Spanish: potasa f, lejía (es) f Swedish: pottaska (sv) c Tagalog: potasa Thai: โพแทช (poh tâet) Turkish: kalye (tr) Ukrainian: по́та́ш m (pótáš)

chemistry: an impure form of potassium carbonate (K₂CO₃) mixed with other potassium salts

Arabic: قِلْو‎ m (qilw), قِلْي‎ m (qily), أُشْنَان‎ m (ʾušnān), بُوتَاس‎ m (būtās) Bulgarian: поташ m (potaš) Czech: potaš (cs) f Danish: potaske c Finnish: potaska (fi) French: potasse (fr) f German: Pottasche (de) f Gujarati: please add this translation if you can Hindi: please add this translation if you can Hungarian: kálium-karbonát (hu) Italian: potassa (it) f Lao: please add this translation if you can Latin: nitrum (la) n Norwegian: Bokmål: pottaske m or f Nynorsk: pottoske f Polish: potaż (pl) m Russian: пота́ш (ru) m (potáš) Ukrainian: по́та́ш m (pótáš)

chemistry, archaic: potassium — See also translations at potassium

French: potasse (fr) f Italian: potassa (it) f

Verb

potash (third-person singular simple present potashes, present participle potashing, simple past and past participle potashed)

1. To treat with potassium.
   • 1910, Platers' Guide: With which is Combined Brass World:

     In order to ascertain the difference between the rapidity of pickling when the tin frames had been potashed and pickling without such treatment, two batches were used.

   • 1915, Metal Finishing: Preparation, Electroplating, Coating:

     Gold ornaments are sand blasted or steel brushed nicely, then potashed,

   • 1953, Nature Magazine, page 223:

     After removal from a worker bee they should be potashed in ten percent potassium hydroxide, washed, dehydrated, cleared, and mounted.

   • 2003, Senckenbergiana biologica, page 136:

     For the extraction of the internal sclerites the aedeagus was potashed in cold saturated KOH solution for several hours and transferred to a vial of distilled water.

References

• Krueger, Dennis (December 1982). "Why On Earth Do They Call It Throwing?" Studio Potter Vol. 11, Number 1.

Anagrams

• Pashto, pathos, sophta