Potash
/ˈpɒtæʃ/noun
A potassium-rich substance obtained from wood ash and used in making soap, glass, and fertilizers.
Did you know?The word comes from ash soaked in water and boiled in pots, then used to produce potassium compounds long before modern chemistry named the element.
Etymological Timeline
Old English / Early Germanic
Germanic
*pott*
“pot, vessel”
Old English
English
æsce
“ash, burned residue”
17th Century
Dutch
potasch
“pot ash; crude potassium carbonate from wood ash”
17th Century
German
Pottasche
“pot ash used in making glass and soap”
Modern English
English
potash
“potassium salts, especially those used as fertilizer or in industry”