vitriol

See also: Vitriol

English

Etymology

From Middle English vitriol, from Old French vitriol, from Medieval Latin vitriolum (“sulfuric acid”), from vitrum (“glass”).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈvɪtɹiəl/, /ˈvɪtɹiɑl/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈvɪtɹiɒl/, /ˈvɪtɹiəl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

vitriol (countable and uncountable, plural vitriols)

1. (dated) Any of various metal sulphates.
   • 1807, A New and Complete Encyclopaedia; or, Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences: Vol III‎^[1], page 48:

     CRYSTALS of Venus or of copper, called also vitriol of Venus, is copper reduced into the form of vitriol by spirit of nitre, or by dissolving verdegris in good distilled vinegar, till the acid be saturated; it is very caustic and used to eat off proud flesh. It is also used by painters, and manufacturers, and sold under the name of distilled vinegar. See CHEMISTRY.

   • 2013, John Read, From Alchemy to Chemistry‎^[2]:

     The association of the heavenly bodies with known metals and also with human organs and destinies goes back to ancient Chaldea, the land of astrologers. In Chaucer’s words: ‘The seven bodies eek, lo hear anon. Sol gold is, and Luna silver we declare; Mars yron, Mercurie is quyksilver; Saturnian leed; and Jubitur is tyn, and Venus coper, by my fathers kyn.’ […] Corresponding names were bestowed upon salts of these metals by the alchemists, and some of them have persisted down to the present day. Some examples are lunar caustic (silver nitrate); vitriol of Venus (copper sulphate); sugar of Saturn (lead acetate); and vitriol of Mars, or Martial vitriol (ferrous sulphate).

2. (dated) oil of vitriol (sulfuric acid).
4. (by extension) Bitterly abusive language.
   • 2012 November 2, Ken Belson, New York Times, retrieved 2 November 2012:

     For days, online forums sparked with outrage against politicians and race organizers, a tone that turned to vitriol against runners, even from some shaming other runners for being selfish.

Derived terms

• blue vitriol
• copper vitriol
• elixir of vitriol
• green vitriol
• hurl vitriol
• iron vitriol
• oil of vitriol
• red vitriol
• Roman vitriol
• salt of vitriol
• spirit of vitriol
• vitriolage
• vitriolate
• vitriol attack
• vitriolic
• vitriolize
• vitriol of Mars
• white vitriol

Related terms

• vitreous

Descendants

• → Irish: vitrial

Translations

sulfuric acid — see sulfuric acid

various metal sulphates

• Arabic: زَاج m (zāj)
• Azerbaijani: zağ (az)
• Bulgarian: метален сулфат (metalen sulfat)
• Dutch: vitriool (nl) n
• Esperanto: vitriolo
• Finnish: vihtrilli (fi)
• French: vitriol (fr) m
• Georgian: აჯასპი (aǯasṗi)
• German: Vitriol (de) n
• Greek: βιτριόλι (el) n (vitrióli)
• Irish: vitrial m
• Italian: vetriolo (it)
• Kazakh: тотияйын (totiäiyn)
• Persian: زاج (fa) (zâj)
• Portuguese: vitríolo (pt) m
• Russian: купоро́с (ru) m (kuporós)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: га̏лица f

  Latin: gȁlica (sh) f

• Spanish: vitriolo (es) m

  Old Spanish: azech m

• Swedish: vitriol (sv)
• Tajik: зок (zok)
• Turkish: zaç (tr)

  Ottoman Turkish: زاج (zaç)

• Ukrainian: купорос m (kuporos)

Verb

vitriol (third-person singular simple present vitriols, present participle (US) vitrioling or (UK) vitriolling, simple past and past participle (US) vitrioled or (UK) vitriolled)

1. (transitive) To subject to bitter verbal abuse.

   Synonyms: abuse, call names, vituperate; see also Thesaurus:revile

2. (transitive, metallurgy) To dip in dilute sulfuric acid; to pickle.
3. (transitive, colloquial) To vitriolize.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin vitriolum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vi.tʁi.jɔl/

• Audio (Paris):

  (file)

Noun

vitriol m (plural vitriols)

1. vitriol (all senses)

Further reading

• “vitriol”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French vitriol.

Noun

vitriol n (plural vitrioluri)

1. vitriol

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	vitriol	vitriolul		vitrioluri	vitriolurile
genitive-dative	vitriol	vitriolului		vitrioluri	vitriolurilor
vocative	vitriolule			vitriolurilor