alkaline

English

WOTD – 29 March 2009

Alternative forms

• alk. (abbreviation)

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”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈæl.kəl.aɪn/
• (US) enPR: ălˈkəlīn, IPA^(key): /ˈæl.kə.laɪn/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Adjective

alkaline (comparative more alkaline, superlative most alkaline)

1. Of, or relating to an alkali, one of a class of caustic bases.
   • 1913, James Campbell Brown, A History of Chemistry from the Earliest Times, page 279:

     [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).

2. (chemistry) Having a pH greater than 7.

   Synonym: basic

   Coordinate term: acidic

Derived terms

• alkaline air
• alkaline battery
• alkaline earth
• alkaline earth metal
• alkaline glaze
• alkaline hydrolysis
• alkalinely
• alkaline phosphatase
• alkalinise
• alkalinity
• alkalinization
• alkalinize
• antalkaline
• antialkaline
• hyperalkaline
• immunoalkaline
• nonalkaline
• peralkaline
• subalkaline
• superalkaline

 

Related terms

• alkalescent
• alkalic
• alkali
• alkaloid

Translations

of or relating to an alkali

• Catalan: alcalí (ca)
• Czech: zásaditý
• Danish: alkalisk
• Esperanto: alkaleca
• Finnish: emäksinen (fi), alkalinen, alkali- (fi)
• French: alcalin (fr)
• Galician: alcalino
• Georgian: ტუტე (ṭuṭe), ტუტიანი (ṭuṭiani)
• German: alkalisch (de)
• Greek: αλκαλικός (el) m (alkalikós)

  Ancient: νιτρώδης (nitrṓdēs)

• Hungarian: alkáli (hu)
• Irish: alcaileach
• Italian: alcalino (it)
• Navajo: łeeyáán
• Polish: alkaliczny (pl) m
• Portuguese: alcalino (pt)
• Romanian: alcalin (ro) m or n
• Russian: щелочно́й (ru) (ščeločnój)
• Serbo-Croatian: lužnat (sh) m, lužnati m
• Slovak: zásaditý
• Spanish: alcalino (es)
• Swedish: alkalisk (sv)
• Telugu: క్షార (te) (kṣāra)
• Ukrainian: лу́жний (lúžnyj)

having a pH greater than 7

• Arabic: قَاعِدَة (ar) f (qāʕida)
• Catalan: alcalí (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 碱性 (zh) (jiǎnxìng)

• Czech: zásaditý
• Danish: alkalisk
• Esperanto: alkaleca
• Finnish: emäksinen (fi), alkalinen
• French: basique (fr) m
• German: alkalisch (de)
• Greek: αλκαλικός (el) m (alkalikós)
• Hungarian: alkalikus (hu), lúgos (hu), bázikus (hu)
• Irish: alcaileach
• Korean: 알칼리성 (ko) (alkalliseong), 염기성 (ko) (yeomgiseong)
• Navajo: díkʼǫ́ǫ́zh
• Polish: alkaliczny (pl) m, zasadowy (pl)
• Portuguese: alcalino (pt)
• Slovak: zásaditý
• Spanish: alcalino (es)
• Swedish: alkalisk (sv), basisk (sv)
• Ukrainian: лу́жний (lúžnyj)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} alkaličan

Noun

alkaline (plural alkalines)

1. An alkaline battery.

Further reading

• “alkaline”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Italian

Adjective

alkaline f

1. feminine plural of alkalino