Vitriol

Description

An obsolete name used for sulfates. The term vitriol originated in the 13th century in Albertus Magnus's book De Mineralbus, Liber V (Schur 1985).

Some examples are:

• Blue vitriol - Copper sulfate
• Green vitriol - Ferrous sulfate
• Red vitriol - hydrated cobalt sulfate
• White vitriol - Zinc sulfate
• Oil of vitriol - Sulfuric acid

Synonyms and Related Terms

copperas; sal martis; sulfate of iron; chacantum (Gr.); attramentum (Lat.)

Resources and Citations

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p.785

• Susan E. Schur, Conservation Terminology: A review of Past & Current Nomenclature of Materials, Technology and Conservation, Spring (p.34-39); Summer (p.35-38); Fall (p.25-36), 1985

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998