Rochelle salts
- noun
- /roʊˈʃɛl sɔlts/
- Specialized
:
sales de Rochelle
- Doctors sometimes recommend Rochelle salts for mild constipation.
Examples
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In older laboratories, Rochelle salts were commonly used in various chemical applications.
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The chemist recommended Rochelle salts to relieve mild constipation.
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In older laboratories, Rochelle salts were often used in chemical reactions.
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Seidlitz powders contain Rochelle salts as the active ingredient.
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Have you ever used Rochelle salts as a laxative?
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The chemist recommended Rochelle salts for their effectiveness as a mild laxative.
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Many people find that Rochelle salts can help relieve mild constipation.
Synonyms
A white crystal used as a mild laxative and in early electrical devices
A white powder used to help with mild constipation in some medicines
Surface Forms
Morphology
Rochelle + salt
This is an eponymic/technical chemical name where 'Rochelle' is a proper name (not semantically transparent to learners) and 'salt' only gives the broad category. A B1 learner who knows 'salt' would not be able to deduce the specific substance (a double potassium–sodium tartrate) or its medicinal use, so the meaning is not compositionally predictable.
Etymology
Rochelle salts likely take their name from the French port La Rochelle, where salts left from winemaking were made and sold. Because people used those salts as a mild 'laxative' and in 'chemistry', the place name came to mean the potassium sodium tartrate we still call Rochelle salts today.
