Nitrate
/ˈnaɪ.treɪt/noun
A salt or ester of nitric acid.
Did you know?The word ultimately comes from Latin nitrum, borrowed from Greek nitron, a term for naturally occurring soda/mineral salts used in cleansing and in early chemistry.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
nitron
“Natural soda or mineral salt, especially used for cleaning”
Latin
Latin
nitrum
“Soda ash or natron-like mineral salt”
Late Latin / Medieval Latin
Latin
nitratum
“A nitrate salt or a substance treated with nitre”
17th–18th Century
French
nitrate
“A salt formed from nitric acid”
Modern English
English
nitrate
“A salt or ester of nitric acid”