alkalin.adj.
/ˈalkəlʌɪ/, U.S. /ˈælkəˌlaɪ/ A. n.† 3. Botany. A plant from which soda ash is obtained, esp. saltwort. Cf. Compounds 1b. Obsolete.
1. A saline substance, typically consisting largely of sodium carbonate, extracted from the calcined ashes of saltwort (genus Salsola), glasswort (genus Salicornia), or other plants; soda ash. Cf. soda n.1 1a. Now historical except as passing into sense A. 2a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > chemical substances > bases > [noun] > alkalis > saline substance
alkali?a1400
sal alkalia1550
?a1400 in D. W. Singer Catal. Lat. & Vernacular Alchemical MSS (1931) II. 409 (MED) Enbibe thi calx of metalles..with the water of alkali.
?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Paris) (1971) 391 (MED) Avicen..wille þat it be frotede at the sonne wiþ alkely.
1612 B. Jonson Alchemist i. iii. sig. C3 You shall deale much, with Mineralls..I know, you'haue Arsnike, Vitriol, Sal Tartre, Argaile, Alkaly.
1712 J. Browne tr. P. Pomet et al. Compl. Hist. Druggs I. 102 They make of this Salt—a white Salt call'd Salt of Kali or Alkali.
1824 W. J. Burchell Trav. II. 21 The soil..was covered principally with such shrubs and plants as afford alkali: these were the Kanna-bush, and another..Brak-boschjes.
1976 S. G. E. Lythe Econ. of Scotl. ii. 41 Both sand and kelp (from which alkali could be extracted) abounded around the Scottish coasts.
1992 W. H. Brock Fontana Hist. Chem. viii. 277 Traditionally..soda (‘alkali’),..had been extracted from the barilla plant, which grew around the Mediterranean sea, or from sea kelp, which was gathered around the northern coasts of Scotland.
2. Chemistry.
a. A substance having the characteristics exemplified by soda, i.e. a caustic or acrid taste, the power of neutralizing or effervescing with acids, and of forming soaps with oils; a water-soluble base, esp. a soluble hydroxide such as those of sodium, potassium, and ammonium. Also as a mass noun: any matter of this kind, esp. as used in industrial or synthetic processes. Contrasted with acid.fixed, mineral, organic, vegetable, volatile alkali, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > chemical substances > bases > [noun]
alkali1562
alkaline1684
base1727
the world > matter > chemistry > chemical substances > bases > [noun] > alkalis > like soda
alkali1562
society > occupation and work > materials > types of material generally > [noun] > alkaline material
alkali1822
the world > matter > chemistry > chemical substances > bases > [noun] > alkalis > in manufacturing
alkali1822
1562 W. Ward tr. G. Ruscelli 3rd Pt. Secretes Alexis of Piemont vi. f. 74v Take the ashes of leese of wine burned, quick lime, of eche equall quantitie, and put them into three stillitorie glasses one ouer another... Then let it coole, you shall finde a stone in it called Alkali [Fr. se sera sel Alkali].
1617 J. Woodall Surgions Mate 326 Paracelsus termeth euery vegitable Salt Alkaly.
1658 G. Starkey Natures Explic. 298 Alcalyes are the fixt Salts of combustible Concretes, fixed by the activity of the fire, which were (before burning) volatile.
1732 J. Arbuthnot Pract. Rules of Diet i. 246 Mulberries, pectoral, corrective of the bilious Alkali.
1749 D. Hartley Observ. Man i. i. §1. ⁋5 The effervescence which attends the Mixture of Acids and Alcali's.
1794 Times 5 Aug. 3/2 The extraction of alkali from marine salt.
1822 T. Webster Imison's Elem. Sci. & Art (new ed.) II. 4 If some oil and some alkali be put together they will unite and form soap.
1826 Lancet 27 May 269/1 Acidity of stomach may be counteracted by alcalies of various kinds; potass, soda, ammonia, lime, or magnesia.
1876 A. Ure Dict. Arts I. 71 Of alkali manufactured in the United Kingdom the following quantities were exported.
1907 Colorado Springs Gaz. 27 Oct. 18/2 Caustic potash, washing soda, spirits of ammonia and other strong alkalis in common use in the household are frequently swallowed by mistake or with suicidal intent.
1939 Fortune Oct. 45/3 Allied Chemical & Dye..is a holding company resting upon four great pedestals: acids, alkalies, coal tar, and nitrogen.
1978 G. C. Hill & J. S. Holman Chem. in Context xxxi. 496 The hydrolysis of an ester by alkali is sometimes called saponification.
1999 C. Mendelson Home Comforts xxvi. 373/2 Institutional laundries add a ‘sour’—that is, an acidic compound—to neutralize alkalies.
b. = alkali metal n. at Compounds 3. Frequently in plural.
ΚΠ
1902 Amer. Jrnl. Sci. 164 217 The alkalies and lead play so small a rôle, and the remaining constituents so prominent a part in the complex chemical molecules, that the latter..dominate the crystallization.
1931 A. D. Hall Soil (ed. 4) i. 27 Akin to glauconite are certain hydrated double silicates of aluminium and the alkalis or alkaline earths, called generically zeolites.
1978 H. M. Rosenberg Solid State (ed. 2) xiv. 226 The alkalis and the noble metals do not become superconducting.
1988 F. A. Cotton & G. Wilkinson Adv. Inorg. Chem. (ed. 5) iv. 131 For weak acids the lithium salts are usually less soluble than those of the other alkalis.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Chenopodiaccae (goose-foot and allies) > [noun] > glasswort or barilla
glass-weed1568
alkali1578
kali1578
glasswort1597
rock samphire1597
saltwort1597
soda1658
barilla1766
kelpwort1787
Salsola1801
roly-poly1857
Russian thistle1884
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball i. lxxviii. 115 It [sc. Salsola Kali] is the right Kali, or Alkali of the Arabians: some call it in English Salte-worte; we may also call it Kali, or prickled Kali [Fr. Les medecins Arabes appellent toutes ces herbes Kali & Alkali].
1677 E. Coles Eng. Dict. (new ed.) Alkali, the herb Kali or Saltwort.
1753 J. Hanway Hist. Acct. Brit. Trade Caspian Sea I. liv. 363 We found it to be..the small sort of kali (or alkali, glass-wort, the ash of this is used in making glass and soap).
4. figurative. Frequently as a counterpart to acid: cf. acid n. 2.
ΚΠ
1699 T. Brown Coll. Misc. Poems, Lett. 85 Had he kept his humour most austere, He might have yet liv'd with us many a year, Preserv'd in his own pickle, Vinegar: But when the Alkali had kill'd the sowr, His blood being sweeten'd, off troopt Dr. Lower.
1702 Eng. Theophrastus 141 The church of England generally preaches alcali's, the Presbyterians acids.
1710 J. Paris & S. White Present State Trinity Coll. 60 Imaginary Trials of Skill, between High-Church Alkali's, and Low-Church Acids.
1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. II. xii. 296 The acid fermentation of their dispute being at once neutralized by the powerful alkali implied in the word secret.
1899 H. Bushnell in T. T. Munger Horace Bushnell iii. 34 The very delicate condition prepared for the young pastor, who is to be thus daintily inserted between an acid and an alkali, having it for his task both to keep them apart and to save himself from being bitten of one or devoured by the other.
1961 Times 30 Oct. 6/1 It provides for us all a useful test of electoral opinion..in constituencies different enough in type to offer us some hope of distinguishing whether Lancashire has gone acid while the metropolitan suburbs still stay alkali.
2007 Sun Herald (Sydney) (Nexis) 18 Nov. (Sunday Life section) 53 There is something of the acid and alkali about you: amiable and conciliatory, while always keeping your eye on the prize.
5. U.S.
a. Native alkaline compounds and mineral salts existing in excess in the soil. Hence: (land covered with) soil rich in such compounds. Cf. alkali desert n., alkali flat n. at Compounds 3.
ΚΠ
1848 E. Bryant What I saw in Calif. viii. 124 I found the liquid bitter with salt and alkali.
1869 S. Bowles Our New West xiv. 278 In looking out..on the starry heavens,..one almost forgets alkali.
1872 ‘M. Twain’ Sketches New & Old 119 That awful five days' journey, through alkali, sagebrush, peril of body.
1904 S. E. White Blazed Trail Stories x. 181 They had ridden solitary over the limitless alkali of the Arizona plains.
1947 Econ. Geogr. 23 9/2 Alkali presents one of the most serious problems facing agriculturists of the western half of the United States.
1981 Ann. Assoc. Amer. Geographers 71 343/2 Both white and black alkali..are reported from Michoacan and Tlaxcala.
2005 C. Feldman Children of Heartland v. 107 We're not across the alkali yet Dad, is it dried out?
b. A person who inhabits or frequents a region rich in alkali. rare.
ΚΠ
1904 S. E. White Mountains 229 The cave..is inhabited by an old ‘alkali’.
1907 S. E. White Arizona Nights (U.K. ed.) i. ii. 31 A white-faced woman who looked mighty good to us alkalis.
B. adj.
Chiefly attributive (in early use as postmodifier). Of the nature of or containing alkali; alkaline; (of earth, land, etc.) rich in alkaline compounds and salts. Cf. sense A. 5a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > chemical substances > bases > [adjective] > of or relating to alkalis or bases
alkalic1405
lixival1649
lixivial1649
lixivious1655
alkalizate1658
lixiviate1658
alkalious1668
alkalous1670
alkalic1682
alkaline1682
lixivian1725
alkalinous1764
basic1846
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Canon's Yeoman's Tale (Ellesmere) (1875) G. §3. l. 810 Salt tartre Alcaly [c1415 Lansd. alkaly, c1425 Petworth alcalie], and sal preparat And combust matires and coagulat.
1676 T. Sherley tr. V. A. Moellenbrock Cochlearia Curiosa xiii. 113 Many now a daies refer the causes of all internal Diseases to an Acide, and an Alkaly Salt.
1706 tr. L. Lémery Treat. Foods (new ed.) ii. lix. 255 They reduce the Brain into the form of an Alkali Matter, proper only to swallow up some acid parts.
1848 W. Clayton Latter-day Saints' Emigrants' Guide i Emigrants have lost many of their teams in the neighbourhood of the Alkali lakes.
1913 C. A. Stebbins Princ. Agric. xxxix. 311 Sugar beets often do well in soil too alkali in nature for other plants.
1965 G. J. Williams Econ. Geol. N.Z. ix. 141/1 The presence of riebeckite suggests an alkali environment.
1993 I. Doig Heart Earth (1994) 16 Some times there is alkali ground and in other places gumbo soil.
1996 Jrnl. Cell Biol. 132 82/1 (caption) Alkali conditions were established using a 0.1-M Na2CO3 buffer.
Compounds
C1.
a. General attributive.
ΚΠ
1782Alkali Work or Works [see alkali works n. at Compounds 3].
1846 London Jrnl. Arts, Sci., & Manuf. 29 198 The specific gravity of the alkali solution may be 1.2, or even stronger.
1862 ‘M. Twain’ Lett. (1917) I. 67 I have had my whiskers and mustaches so full of alkali dust that you would have thought I worked in a starch factory.
1898 Cosmopolitan July 322/2 They have been put through an alkali bath to remove the oil..used in all the various stages of preparation.
1922 T. M. Lowry Inorg. Chem. xxxix. 744 Lead chromate..is dissolved by cold lime water or alkali hydroxides.
1949 Our Industry (Anglo-Iranian Oil Co.) (ed. 2) iv. 136 As alkali treatment only partially removes them [sc. mercaptans], further ‘sweetening’ processes are needed.
1972 Materials & Technol. V. xi. 358 Thioindigoid reds and maroons are vat dyestuff pigments with..excellent acid and alkali resistance.
1989 Encycl. Brit. X. 916/3 A fat and oil mixture is agitated with an alkali solution in an open pan until it thickens.
2000 W. A. Campbell in C. A. Russell Chem., Soc. & Environment iv. 82 As confidence grew, alkali manufacture spread in three main centres, Tyneside, Merseyside and Clydeside.
b. Designating plants whose ashes yield alkali or which grow in alkaline or saline soils, esp. saltwort and glasswort. Chiefly as alkali bush, alkali plant. Cf. sense A. 3.
ΚΠ
1860 A. N. Bell Knowl. Living Things xiii. 120 The ashes of plants are characterized by four chief classes of components: readily soluble alkaline salts; earths, especially lime and magnesia; phosphoric acid and silex... According to this, Liebig divides the cultivated vegetables into: I. Alkali plants, to which belong Potatoes and Beets [etc.].
1881 S. Merrill East of Jordan xx. 256 Our glasses revealed a few camels standing among the alkali bushes.
1926 T. E. Lawrence Seven Pillars (subscribers' ed.) lxxiii. 382 Natural trenches, admirably screened with alkali bushes.
1926 Isis 8 507 He had tried to show that..sagilatu [is not] cyperus, but an alkali plant.
1935 Auk 52 441 Some segments of the alkali-weed (Salicornia sp.) also were being taken.
2006 Camping Life (Nexis) June 10 Leopard lizards..prefer flat, wide-open, semi-arid expanses dotted with desert flora such as alkali bush, sagebrush and creosote.
c. Geology. Designating minerals and rocks in which alkali metals (esp. sodium and potassium), or minerals containing them, are significant components, as alkali amphibole, alkali granite, etc. See also alkali basalt n., alkali feldspar n. at Compounds 3.
ΚΠ
1896 Science 24 July 119/1 Petrographic study of the prophyry [sic] shows it to belong to the alkali granite-syenite series.
1920 A. Holmes Nomencl. Petrol. 116 Hedrumite, a leucocratic variety of alkali-syenite containing accessory nepheline.
1963 W. A. Deer et al. Rock-forming Minerals II. 369 Bilgrami (1955) considered it appropriate to classify the manganese-rich alkali amphibole juddite..with the richterite group.
1985 R. Thorpe & G. Brown Field Descr. Igneous Rocks ix. 125 Around the vents are alkali-enriched metasomatic rocks containing alkali feldspar and alkali pyroxenes replacing the original mineralogy.
2004 N. Eastaugh et al. Pigment Compend. 12/1 The alkali amphiboles show a wider variety of colours, often being blue or blue-green but also red, brown, yellow and green.
C2. Parasynthetic and objective, as alkali-maker, alkali-resistant, alkali-rich, etc.
ΚΠ
1819 Times 17 Aug. 4/1 J. Goudie and T. Lutwyche, Liverpool, alkali-makers.
1855 J. F. Johnston Chem. Common Life (ed. 4) II. xxvii. 247 The makers of common soda (alkali-makers as they are called).
1896 B. Blount & A. G. Bloxam Chem. for Engineers & Manuf. II. i. 15 For alkali making by the Leblanc process, Glover acid is suitable.
1902 Science 27 June 1010/1 A most remarkable petrographical province, consisting of a dual series of alkali-rich rocks.
1902 Science 11 July 55/2 An important field opens in the matter of developing alkali resistant plants.
1936 Ecology 17 521 Cataloguing plants as ‘acid-loving’ or ‘alkali-loving’ may be in error unless..competition of associated plants is considered.
1993 Collins Compl. DIY Man. (new ed.) ii. 50/2 Use an alkali-resistant primer first if you are applying solvent-based paints.
1997 R. Porter Greatest Benefit to Mankind iv. 93 Wounds were disinfected with alkali-rich saltwort.
C3.
Alkali Act n. any of certain British Acts of Parliament regulating alkali manufacture and including controls on the emission by chemical works of harmful substances to the atmosphere.
ΚΠ
1863 Act 26 & 27 Victoria c. 124 §1 This Act may be cited as the ‘Alkali Act, 1863’.
1921 Yale Law Jrnl. 30 439 The British Alkali Acts (1863 to 1906)..make an attempt to prescribe..the conditions with which highly offensive and yet essential industries must comply.
1974 Nature 17 May 204/2 Thirty-five inspectors monitor the 2,000-odd works registered under the Alkali Act.
2000 Progress in Planning 53 172 The pollution control system. One of the cornerstones of this system since the Alkali Act of 1874 has been the concept of best practicable means.
alkali albumen n. (also alkali albumin) Biochemistry (now rare) a metaprotein formed by alkaline hydrolysis: see metaprotein n.
ΚΠ
1872 Lancet 17 Feb. 232/1 The precipitate..agreed in its chemical characters with alkali-albumen or acid-albumen.
1891 Science 5 June 317/1 Alkali-albumin is formed at the cathode, and acid-albumin at the anode.
1940 E. N. Harvey Living Light 136 Luciferin..forms an insoluble ‘alkali albumin’ with ammonium hydroxide.
alkali albuminate n. Biochemistry (now rare) = alkali albumen n.
ΚΠ
1873 Chem. News 4 Apr. 168/2 The yolk of the eggs contains an albumenoid matter akin to myosin; further, lecithin, cholesterine, alkali-albuminate, ordinary albumen.
1913 J. W. Jenkinson Vertebr. Embryol. iii. 47 In some birds..the egg-white does not become opaque on boiling, but gives a transparent jelly, similar to alkali albuminate.
1932 Amer. Jrnl. Surg. 18 235/2 Gastric mucin... Dilute alkalies produce from it an alkali-albuminate.
alkali basalt n. Geology a variety of basalt having nepheline as a normative mineral and typically containing phenocrysts of olivine, titanium-rich augite, and plagioclase.
ΚΠ
1905 J. B. Jaquet et al. in Rec. Geol. Surv. New S. Wales 8 63 For the more basic members of group A, the term ‘alkali-basalt’, analogous to those of ‘alkali-granite’ and ‘alkali-syenite’, now in use, has much to recommend it.
1952 Jrnl. Ecol. 40 143 The island of Pico is formed entirely of alkali basalt or olivine.
1979 R. Anderton et al. Dynamic Stratigr. Brit. Isles xi. 164/1 Alkali basalts..were particularly important in the Midland Valley of Scotland and in the Northumberland Basin.
2002 Jrnl. Petrol. 43 1926/2 Major high field strength elements (HFSE), such as Ti and P, have higher concentrations in alkali basalt than in sub-alkaline basalt.
alkali blue n. any of various blue dyes which are applied or remain fast in alkaline conditions; spec. any of a series of sodium salts of phenylated rosaniline sulphonic acids, used as indicators and as pigments for printing inks.
ΚΠ
1873 Chem. News 22 Aug. 100/2 This number [sc. Reimann's Färber Zeitung no. 28] contains..receipts for an alkali blue on woollen yarn or piece goods.
1917 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 93 p. xxix Meldola..was also the discoverer..of the beta-naphthalated rosaniline sulphonic acid, first brought out in 1883 as alkali blue XG.
1933 Jrnl. Pediatrics 3 33 Fluorescein is generally said to be finely divided, whereas alkali blue is one of the coarsely divided dyes.
1967 R. R. Karch & E. J. Buber Offset Processes vii. 269 Alkali blues are available in a wide range of the deep reddish shades. They are useful for ‘toning’ blacks.
2005 Focus on Pigments July 2 Alkali blue is widely used as a blue pigment for printing inks and as a toner component in black inks.
alkali cellulose n. a compound of cellulose and an alkali, esp. one made by heating wood pulp, cotton waste, etc., in concentrated sodium hydroxide solution and used as a starting material in industrial processes.
ΚΠ
1893 Lancet 23 Sept. 766/2 The interaction of alkali-cellulose and carbon bisulphide.
1926 Times 9 Mar. p. xiv/6 Carbon bisulphide is sprayed on the alkali cellulose, transforming it into xanthate of cellulose.
2002 E. S. Stevens Green Plastics vii. 116 Caustic soda disrupts the crystalline regions and produces a solution of alkali cellulose.
alkali desert n. U.S. a barren expanse of land covered with very alkaline soil or mineral salts (cf. sense A. 5a).
ΚΠ
1866 Harper's Mag. June 27/1 Sage-deserts and alkali-deserts, varied by low barren mountains.
1872 ‘M. Twain’ Roughing It xviii. 142 That species of deserts whose concentrated hideousness shames the diffused and diluted horrors of Sahara—an ‘alkali’ desert.
1934 A. E. Newton Derby Day x. 189 Think of the miles of alkali desert with dust as fine as flour, dust which blistered the lips, burned the eyes.
2006 J. G. Moore King of 40th Parallel vii. 159 Another party left the Big Bend camp heading east to investigate the alkali deserts near the sink of the Carson River.
alkali feldspar n. Mineralogy any mineral of the feldspar group which is rich in sodium and potassium; spec. one in which potassium is more abundant than sodium or calcium.
ΚΠ
1897 Philos. Trans. 1896 (Royal Soc.) A. 187 196 These rocks consist mainly of an alkali-felspar with more or less quartz and certain accessory minerals.
1948 R. M. Pearl Pop. Gemol. iv. 178 Like orthoclase, microcline is a so-called potash or alkali feldspar and has the same chemical formula.
2002 Oxoniensia 66 143 The sectioning of the fragment..has shown that the white flecks are phenocrysts of alkali feldspar.
alkali flat n. U.S. (frequently in plural) a level expanse of land covered with very alkaline or saline soil; cf. sense A. 5a and salt flat at salt adj.1 1c.
ΚΠ
1856 D. H. Burr Let. 30 Sept. in Rep. Secretary Interior in Message President U.S. to Congr. 544 The water issues from the rocks with great force, running across the road and overflowing the alkali flats.
1878 J. H. Beadle Western Wilds xxiv. 388 I am convinced there is little to see but..alkali flats and sand-hills.
1931 A. D. Hall Soil (ed. 4) ix. 317 Many once fertile tracts on the lower levels are already flooded, and..they are mere bogs and swamps and alkali flats.
1990 K. Mitchell Shipbuilder i. ii. 16 Person hasta be crazy to live here, on the flats. At least you got a little ravine... All I got's alkali flats.
alkali metal n. Chemistry each of the metallic elements lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, caesium, and francium, occupying group 1 of the periodic table, which are very reactive and form strongly alkaline hydroxides.
ΚΠ
1843 J. L. Bullock tr. C. R. Fresenius Elem. Instr. Chem. Anal. iii. 258 The sulpherets [sic] of the alkali metals.
1900 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) A. 193 89 The colour imparted to flames by the salts of an alkali metal is generally considered to be due to the metal existing in the state of incandescent vapour.
1950 N. V. Sidgwick Chem. Elements I. 11 Hydrogen..has close affinities both with the alkali metals of Group I and with the halogens of Group VII.
2001 O. Sacks Uncle Tungsten xvii. 217 Bunsen and Kirchhoff discovered another new alkali metal; they called this rubidium, from ‘the magnificent dark red color of its rays’.
alkali salt n. [originally after post-classical Latin sal alkali (13th cent.)] Chemistry (a) (originally) †an alkali, an alkaline substance (obsolete); (in later use) an alkaline salt; (b) a salt of an alkali or alkali metal.
ΚΠ
1562 W. Ward tr. G. Ruscelli 3rd Pt. Secretes Alexis of Piemont vi. f. 75v Take salt Alkali, and yelkes of Egges, braye them with good Uinaigre, and do as is before sayde, of the water of Mercurye.]
1676 T. Sherley tr. V. A. Moellenbrock Cochlearia Curiosa xiii. 113 Many now a daies refer the causes of all internal Diseases to an Acide, and an Alkaly Salt, and therefore they use almost no other Medicines, except such in which there doth abound a volatile Salt, which may drink up and mortifie the other Salts.
1745 D. Hay tr. L. Lémery Treat. Foods i. xlv. 101 There is much alkali Salt in those Cindars, which produces much Good.
1856 Newton's London Jrnl. Arts & Sci. 3 16 The resin is first pounded and then melted in water with an alkali salt, or alkaline metallic oxide.
1898 Science 30 Sept. 418/2 He electrolyzed the alkali salts of dithio-acids and obtained persulphides of the acids.
1955 B. C. L. Kemp Elem. Org. Chem. (new ed.) xiii. 181 On boiling with aqueous alkalis, the alkali salt of hydroxy-acetic acid is formed.
1992 F. P. Glasser in R. N. Swamy Alkali–Silica Reaction in Concrete ii. 46 Adding concentrated alkali salts generates additional OH−, and they are thus effective at raising pH levels.
alkali soil n. an abnormally alkaline soil; (chiefly U.S.) a soil containing an excess of soluble salts.
ΚΠ
1855 J. C. Smith Harper's Statist. Gazetteer World 1760/2 For the first fifteen or sixteen miles the shores of the lake are low, muddy alkali soil.
1928 Bull. Amer. Soil Surv. Assoc. 9 55 Alkali soil, alkali, a soil containing any soluble salts in sufficient amounts to cause injury to economic plants.
1949 A. N. Puri Soils i. xx. 167 (table) The pH values of alkali soils calculated from carbonate–bicarbonate ratio and determined directly.
1951 W. P. Kelley Alkali Soils vii. 146 It should not be inferred that..all the farmer needs to do in order to reclaim any alkali soil is to drain and leach with water.
2005 N. T. Singh Irrigation & Soil Salinity Indian Subcontinent viii. 235 While alkali soils were concentrated in the Indo-Gangetic plains, saline soils predominated..along the seacoast.
alkali waste n. residue from the manufacture of soda ash, consisting chiefly of calcium sulphide.
ΚΠ
1856 Times 14 July 6/4 The substance known as alkali makers' waste would be the most available source; alkali waste, however, being insoluble, it would have to undergo a chymical change to render it soluble.
1922 T. M. Lowry Inorg. Chem. xxxii. 570 Manufacture of soda by the Leblanc Process... The residue consists mainly of calcium sulphide, lime, and calcium carbonate and forms so-called alkali waste.
2000 W. A. Campbell in C. A. Russell Chem., Soc. & Environment iv. 90 Among uses for alkali waste which were explored and largely rejected were remedies for dry-rot and for potato and vine blight.
alkali works n. (also †alkali work) a factory where alkali is produced, esp. one where sodium carbonate is prepared from common salt.
ΚΠ
1782 Act 22 Geo. III c. 39 in Statutes at Large (1786) IX. 227 The Officer attending at such Alkali Work or Works, at the Time the Salt..shall be brought in to be there used.
1845 Times 12 Sept. 12/1 (advt.) The Oldbury Alkali Work, near Birmingham.
1867 C. L. Bloxam Chemistry 205 The vitriol chambers form part of the plant of the alkali works.
1968 News-Palladium (Benton Harbor, Mich.) 2 Apr. 18/8 Allied Chemical Corp. of New York..plans to discontinue its operations at its alkali works in Detroit.
2000 J. Z. Fullmer Young Humphry Davy 123 He had..by 1798, a partnership in a Tyneside alkali works.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
alkaliv.
/ˈalkəlʌɪ/, U.S. /ˈælkəˌlaɪ/ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > chemical substances > bases > [verb (transitive)] > to make alkaline
alkalize1666
alkalizate1735
alkalify1790
alkalinize1800
alkali1849
1849 Eclectic Rev. May 571 It is exposed for ten hours to boiling in an alkaline fluid, then..alternately washed, soured, chemicked, alkalied, and washed again.
2. transitive (in passive). U.S. To be affected adversely by strongly alkaline or saline conditions of the ground or the water; to be poisoned by alkaline water. Cf. alkali n. 5a. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1852 E. A. McAuley Diary 10 June in K. L. Holmes Covered Wagon Women (1985) IV. 54 Had to cross a very bad alkali swamp and had to rush the cattle through to keep them from drinking the water. When they get alkalied the remedy is a good dose of whiskey.
1863 Latter-day Saints Millennial Star 25 110 The horses, sheep and cattle look as though they had been alkalied.
1878 F. H. Hart Sazerac Lying Club 203 A stranger passing through Churchill County recently, had the misfortune to lose his team of mules, they having become alkalied by the water of that section.
1938 E. E. Kohl Land of Burnt Thigh xiii. 219 Ada's folks lost a horse and a cow—alkalied.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
<
n.adj.?a1400
v.1849