lunar caustic

English

Etymology

See Luna (“silver in alchemy”) + caustic.

Noun

lunar caustic (uncountable)

1. (chemistry, obsolete) Silver nitrate fused into a stick and used for cauterizing.
   • 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 78:

     However, the doctor soon relieved his sufferings, though the treatment was severe; nothing short of an application of lunar caustic allayed the inflammation.

Translations

silver nitrate fused into a stick

• Bulgarian: адски камък (bg) m (adski kamǎk)
• Esperanto: lapiso
• Finnish: laapispuikko