Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

saltpetre

/ˈsɔːltpiːtə(ɹ)/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.83 in modern English

Syllables: salt-pe-tre
IPA: /ˈsɔːltpiːtə(ɹ)/

11

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Potassium nitrate.

Uncountable

noun

Sodium nitrate.

Uncountable

verb

To treat with saltpetre.

Transitive verb

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sḗh₂l Proto-Italic *sāls Latin sāl Pre-Greekder.? Ancient Greek πέτρᾱ (pétrā)bor. Latin petrae Medieval Latin sāl petrae Old French salpetrebor. Middle English saltpetre English saltpetre From Middle English saltpetre, alteration of Old French salpetre, from Medieval Latin sāl petrae (“salt of the rock”), named so being found as an incrustation. Alteration of the first element is from folk-etymological association with salt (which is, nevertheless, cognate to Latin sāl).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: saltpetre, salpetre, sāl petrae

Usage

Inflected Forms

saltpetres (plural) saltpeter (alternative, US) saltpetres (present, singular) saltpetring (participle, present) saltpetred (participle, past) saltpetred (past)

Phrases

Chile saltpetre Chilean saltpetre Norway salpetre ? peter

Synonyms

Chilean saltpeter Chilean saltpetre nitrate of potash niter nitre potassium nitrate caliche Chile saltpeter Chile saltpetre soda niter soda nitre sodium nitrate

Questions

How do you pronounce saltpetre?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈsɔːltpiːtə(ɹ)/.
What does saltpetre mean?: Potassium nitrate.
Where does saltpetre come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce saltpetre

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “saltpetre”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈsɔːltpiːtə(ɹ)/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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