aqua fortis

Definition

Nitric acid.

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin aqua fortis (literally “strong water”).

Example Sentences

• "this man’s whiskey ain’t Red Eye, it ain’t Chain Lightnin’ either, it’s regular Agur-forty, and there isn’t a man living can stand a glass and keep his senses."
• "“Watkey” [vodka] is, in fact, aquafortis, and more injurious than any other spirit."
• "Doubtless the drinking of liquor adds to the cost of our judiciary; doubtless it is responsible for some crime; but the question at issue is not one of liquor-drinking vs. teetotalism—it is a question of drinking licensed liquor or Prohibition aquafortis."