alkaline

Etymology

First attested in 1677. From alkali + -ine, ultimately from Arabic اَلْقِلْي (al-qily, “alkali, ashes of the saltwort”), related to قَلَى (qalā, “to roast in a pan, fry”).

adj

  1. Of, or relating to an alkali, one of a class of caustic bases.
    Joseph Black's] experiments on magnesia alba, quick lime, and other alkaline substances proved that "fixed air" is given off when limestone is burned, and that the same loss is incurred when it is dissolved in muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid). 1913, James Campbell Brown, A History of Chemistry from the Earliest Times, page 279
  2. (chemistry) Having a pH greater than 7.
    Coordinate term: acidic

noun

  1. An alkaline battery.

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