Crude tartar (a substance left behind during wine fermentation), used historically in dyeing and as a cleaning agent.
From Old French 'argol' or from Arabic 'arjol,' referring to the crystalline residue left in wine casks. The term entered Middle English through trade and wine commerce.
Medieval alchemists and dyers valued argol so much that wine-making byproducts became a precious commodity—waste not, want not in the 1300s!
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