potash

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   potassium carbonate or an impure mixture of potassium salts formerly obtained from wood ashes

   Early glassmakers produced potash by leaching water through wood ash.

2. 2
   noun

   any of several potassium compounds or minerals used chiefly in fertilizers and industry

   The farm applied potash to replace potassium removed by the harvest.

A compound of pot and ash. The substance was originally made by leaching wood ashes and boiling the liquid down in a pot. The name later broadened from potassium carbonate to commercially important potassium salts used in fertilizers, soap, glass, and other industries.

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