Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Vitriol
Vit′ri-ol
,Noun.
[F.
vitriol
; cf. Pr. vitriol
, vetriol
, Sp. & Pg. vitriolo
, It. vitriuolo
; fr. L. vitreolus
of glass, vitreus
vitreous. See Vitreous
.] (Chem.)
(a)
A sulphate of any one of certain metals, as copper, iron, zinc, cobalt. So called on account of the glassy appearance or luster.
(b)
Sulphuric acid; – called also
oil of vitriol
. So called because first made by the distillation of green vitriol. See Sulphuric acid
, under Sulphuric
. [Colloq.]
Blue vitriol
. See under
– Blue
. Green vitriol
, ferrous sulphate; copperas. See under
– Green
. Oil of vitriol
, sulphuric or vitriolic acid; – popularly so called because it has the consistency of oil.
– Red vitriol
, a native sulphate of cobalt.
– Vitriol of Mars
, ferric sulphate, a white crystalline substance which dissolves in water, forming a red solution.
– White vitriol
, zinc sulphate, a white crystalline substance used in medicine and in dyeing. It is usually obtained by dissolving zinc in sulphuric acid, or by roasting and oxidizing certain zinc ores. Formerly called also
vitriol of zinc
.Webster 1828 Edition
Vitriol
VIT'RIOL
,Noun.
1.
In mineralogy, native vitriol is a substance of a grayish or yellowish white color, apple green, or sky blue, and when decomposed, covered with an ochery crust. It occurs in masses, disseminated, stalactical, or capillary. Externally, it is dull and rough; internally, it is more or less shining, with a vitreous silky structure. It is called by manufacturers copperas, a name derived from the flower or efflorescence of copper. This substance is seem only in cabinets.2.
In chimistry, a combination of the acid of sulphur with any metallic substance; but chiefly green vitriol, or sulphate of iron; blue vitriol, or sulphate of copper, and white vitriol, or sulphate of zink.All metals may be converted into vitriols, by dissolving them with acid spirits, and suffering them to stand and crystallize.