c. 1400, "native sodium carbonate," from Old French nitre (13c.), from Latin nitrum, from Greek nitron, which is possibly of Eastern origin (compare Hebrew nether "carbonate of soda;" Egyptian ntr). Originally a word for native soda, but also associated from Middle Ages with saltpeter (potassium nitrate) for obscure reasons; this became the predominant sense by late 16c.
雙語例句
1. They used lumps of nitre, a sodium compound from the ship.
他們使用了船上的硝石塊-鈉的一種化合物.
來自互聯(lián)網(wǎng)
2. To relieve the shortage of salt, people have begun to extract it from nitre.