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/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æʃ

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

Noun

potash (countable and uncountable, plural potashes)

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

   Hypernym: ash

   Coordinate term: fly ash

4. (chemistry) An impure form of potassium carbonate (K₂CO₃) mixed with other potassium salts.
6. (chemistry, archaic) Potassium. Chiefly used in the names of compounds of the form "... of potash".

   permanganate of potash ― potassium permanganate

8. 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
• nitre of potash
• osmiate of potash
• oxygenated muriate of potash
• permanganate of potash
• plumbate of potash
• potash alum
• potash blue
• potashery
• potash-feldspar
• potash-felspar
• potash-granite
• potash greensand
• potash kettle
• potash-lime
• potash lye
• potash-mica
• potash of sulfur
• potash of sulphur
• potash-water
• 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

 

Descendants

• → Irish: potais

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 (ʔušnān), 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 (hu)
• 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)
• Persian: شخار (fa) (šaxār)
• 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 (ʔušnān), 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
• Hawaiian: pokaka
• 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 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

• “potash”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• Krueger, Dennis (December 1982). "Why On Earth Do They Call It Throwing?" Studio Potter Vol. 11, Number 1.[1]

Anagrams

• Pashto, pathos, sophta