Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of, relating to, or containing an alkali.
  • adjective Having a pH greater than 7.
  • adjective Having a relatively low concentration of hydrogen ions.
  • adjective Of or relating to a common disposable battery made of zinc and manganese dioxide.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Pertaining to alkali; having the properties of an alkali.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Of or pertaining to an alkali or to alkalies; having the properties of an alkali.
  • adjective certain substances, as lime, baryta, strontia, and magnesia, possessing some of the qualities of alkalies.
  • adjective potassium, sodium, cæsium, lithium, rubidium.
  • adjective a reaction indicating alkalinity, as by the action on limits, turmeric, etc.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An alkaline battery.
  • adjective Of, or relating to an alkali, one of a class of caustic bases.
  • adjective chemistry Having a pH greater than 7.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective relating to or containing an alkali; having a pH greater than 7

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

First attested in 1677. From alkali, ultimately from Arabic القلي (al-qaly, "ashes of the saltwort"), from قلى (qalā, "to roast in a pan, fry").

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