VITRIOL

vituperation, invective, vitriol

(noun) abusive or venomous language used to express blame or censure or bitter deep-seated ill will

vitriol, oil of vitriol, sulfuric acid, sulphuric acid

(noun) (H2SO4) a highly corrosive acid made from sulfur dioxide; widely used in the chemical industry

vitriol

(verb) subject to bitter verbal abuse

vitriol

(verb) expose to the effects of vitriol or injure with vitriol

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

vitriol (countable and uncountable, plural vitriols)

(dated) Sulphuric acid and various metal sulphates.

(by extension) Bitterly abusive language.

Verb

vitriol (third-person singular simple present vitriols, present participle vitriolling or vitrioling, simple past and past participle vitriolled or vitrioled)

(transitive) To subject to bitter verbal abuse.

(transitive, metallurgy) To dip in dilute sulphuric acid; to pickle.

(transitive, colloquial) To vitriolize.

Source: Wiktionary

Vit"ri*ol, n. Etym: [F. vitriol; cf. Pr. vitriol, vetriol, Sp. & Pg. vitriolo, It. vitriuolo; fr. L. vitreolus of glass, vitreus vitreous. See Vitreous.] (Chem.) (a) A sulphate of any one of certain metals, as copper, iron, zinc, cobalt. So called on account of the glassy appearance or luster. (b) Sulphuric acid; -- called also oil of vitriol. So called because first made by the distillation of green vitriol. See Sulphuric acid, under Sulphuric. [Colloq.] Blue vitriol. See under Blue.

– Green vitriol, ferrous sulphate; copperas. See under Green.

– Oil of vitriol, sulphuric or vitriolic acid; -- popularly so called because it has the consistency of oil.

– Red vitriol, a native sulphate of cobalt.

– Vitriol of Mars, ferric sulphate, a white crystalline substance which dissolves in water, forming a red solution.

– White vitriol, zinc sulphate, a white crystalline substance used in medicine and in dyeing. It is usually obtained by dissolving zinc in sulphuric acid, or by roasting and oxidizing certain zinc ores. Formerly called also vitriol of zinc.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition