ammonia

Etymology

From Latin sal ammoniacus (“salt of Amun, ammonium chloride”), named so because it was found near the temple of (Jupiter) Ammon in Egypt. Ammon derives from Ancient Greek Ἄμμων (Ámmōn), from Egyptian jmn (i-mn:n-A4).

noun

1. (inorganic chemistry) A gaseous compound of hydrogen and nitrogen, NH₃, with a pungent smell and taste.
2. A solution of this compound in water used domestically as a cleaning fluid.
   Never use ammonia to clean metal writing pens.
   Slowly we rode down to the camp - a very sorrowful party. We took "Nep" straight to the surgery, where the doctor instantly applied injections of ammonia, then the new remedy for snake bite. 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 95