Niter \Ni"ter\, Nitre \Ni"tre\, n. [F. nitre, L. nitrum native
soda, natron, Gr. ?; cf. Ar. nit[=u]n, natr[=u]n natron. Cf.
Natron.]
1. (Chem.) A white crystalline semitransparent salt;
potassium nitrate; saltpeter. See Saltpeter.
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2. (Chem.) Native sodium carbonate; natron. [Obs.]
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For though thou wash thee with niter, and take thee
much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me.
--Jer. ii. 22.
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Cubic niter, a deliquescent salt, sodium nitrate, found as
a native incrustation, like niter, in Peru and Chile,
whence it is known also as Chile saltpeter.
Niter bush (Bot.), a genus (Nitraria) of thorny shrubs
bearing edible berries, and growing in the saline plains
of Asia and Northern Africa.
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Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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