Alkalies

/ˈælkəˌlaɪz/ noun

Definition

Plural of alkaly (archaic spelling of alkali); multiple alkaline substances or salts.

Etymology

From alkali with an archaic or variant plural ending -ies. This represents an older English spelling convention before standardization of alkali/alkalies.

Kelly Says

Alkalies shows how English was still figuring out how to pluralize borrowed Arabic words in the 1600s-1700s. Different regions and books used different plurals—it's linguistic anarchy in historical texts!

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.