aqua fortis

nitric acid.

Origin of aqua fortis

1595–1605; < Latin: literally, strong water

aqaba, aqmola, aqtöbe, aqua, aqua ammoniae, aqua fortis, aqua pura, aqua regia, aqua vitae, aqua-, aqua-lung

The combs are first dipped in aqua-fortis, and then covered with a paste made of lime, pearlash, and red lead.

Popular Technology, Vol. I (of 2) |Edward Hazen
This is my experience, after this time, we could never find the like Aqua-fortis.

The Golden Calf, Which the World Adores, and Desires |John Frederick Helvetius
We are told that some aqua-fortis having fallen by accident upon his spectacles, the glass was corroded by it.

The Queer, the Quaint and the Quizzical |Frank H. Stauffer
He has a forehead of native brass, and I will write upon it with aqua-fortis.

The Modern Scottish Minstrel, Volume II. |Various

How the simperers would sheer off; the tea that night might as well be made of aqua-fortis.

Charlemont |W. Gilmore Simms

aqua fortis

/ (ˈfɔːtɪs) /

an obsolete name for nitric acid

C17: from Latin, literally: strong water