An archaic name for potassium carbonate or other soluble salts, especially those used in glassmaking and dyeing.
From Arabic al-qali via European languages. The word comes from the Arabic name for a plant whose ashes were burned to produce soda ash, an essential ingredient in medieval chemical and manufacturing processes.
Alk is where we get the word 'alkali'—the basic chemical concept that helped revolutionize dyeing, glassmaking, and early chemistry. Medieval chemists were literally working with materials named from Arabic sources!
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