sulphite Chem.
(ˈsʌlfaɪt)
Also 8 sulfite.
[ad. F. sulphite (Nomencl. chimique, 1787), arbitrary alteration of sulphate: see -ite1 4 b.]
1. A salt of sulphurous acid: usually with a qualifying term indicating the base.
| 1790 [see sulphate 1]. 1790, 1794 [see sulphureous a. 5]. 1800 tr. Lagrange's Chem. I. 219 Sulphite of barytes. 1853 Gregory Inorg. Chem. 270 The sulphites are recognised by their giving off the suffocating smell of sulphurous acid when acted on by a stronger acid. 1867 Ure's Dict. Arts (ed. 6) III. 719 Soda, Sulphite..is prepared largely for removing the last traces of chlorine from the bleached pulp obtained in the manufacture of paper. 1893 J. A. Hodges Elem. Photogr. 29 Sulphite of soda. |
2. attrib., chiefly with reference to the use of sulphite of soda or of lime in certain processes.
| 1892 Photogr. Ann. II. 46 Fill up the forty ounce bottle with the hot ten per cent sulphite solution. 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXI. 457 Two methods..known respectively as the soda or alkaline process and the sulphite or acid process. 1908 Westm. Gaz. 15 Aug. 14/2 The Canadian Pacific Sulphite Pulp Company. 1910 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 11) X. 310/2 These cellulose pulps are known in commerce as ‘sulphite pulps’ and ‘soda pulps’ respectively. 1911 Ibid. XXVI. 67/1 The manufacture of ‘sulphite cellulose’ from wood. |