Rochelle salt
- noun
- /roʊˈʃɛl sɔlt/
- Specialized
:
sal de Rochelle
- In medicine, Rochelle salt acts as a mild laxative for individuals needing relief.
Examples
-
Joseph Valasek studied the properties of Rochelle salt and, in 1920, discovered ferroelectricity.
Academic text (2005) -
"One of the materials he studied was a "tartrate of soda and potash" -- Rochelle salt -- the same material in which Joseph Valasek discovered ferroelectricity almost exactly a century later.
Academic text (2005) -
Rochelle salt is commonly used in laboratories for Rochelle salt crystallization experiments.
-
The chemist explained that Rochelle salt can be utilized in various industrial processes.
Synonyms
A substance that helps relieve constipation and is used in some lab work
A white powder used to help with mild constipation in some medicines
Surface Forms
Morphology
Rochelle + salt
The element 'salt' makes clear that the phrase refers to a type of salt, so part of the meaning is transparent; however 'Rochelle' is a proper name (and here not a lexical word learners know) and the expression denotes a specific chemical (potassium sodium tartrate) and uses that are not predictable from the parts. Because a learner who knows the constituents could infer only that it is some kind of salt but not its specific identity or function, this is best judged semi-transparent.
Etymology
Rochelle salt gets its name from the French port Rochelle, where people once made or shipped the white salt crystals from wine casks. One popular story says collectors found these bright crystals by the docks, and that image of white crystals is why we now call the white crystalline substance used in medicine and early electric devices Rochelle salt.
