sal volatile
(ˌsæl vəˈlætɪlɪ)
[a. mod.L. sal volātile ‘volatile salt’: see sal and volatile a.]
Ammonium carbonate, esp. an aromatic solution of this used as a restorative in fainting fits.
| 1654 Gayton Pleas. Notes iv. v. 197 'Tis that fire, that sal volatile which makes them of so strange agility. 1709 Female Tatler No. 16/3 Betty ran for a Glass of Water, her Sister, for the Sal-Volatile. 1727 Swift, etc. Further Acc. E. Curll Wks. 1755 III. i. 160 A sufficient quantity of the vivifying drops, or Byfield's sal volatile. 1833 Penny Cycl. I. 458/1 A preparation called in the Pharmacopœia, Spiritus Ammoniæ Aromaticus, and commonly Spirit of Sal Volatile. 1880 Mrs. Forrester Roy & V. I. 124 Let me send for a glass of wine or some sal-volatile. |
| attrib. 1731 Fielding Lottery iii, Here are some hartshorn and sal-volatile drops. |