Glossary of Common Chemical Names

949 Chemical's Glossary of Common Chemical Names is an all-inclusive list of essential laboratory chemicals with current technical names used across chemistry and engineering fields.

Common or Archaic Name Current Technical Name
Acid of sugar Oxalic acid 
Ackey Nitric acid 
Alum or Alum flower or Alum meal Potassium aluminum sulfate 
Antichlor Sodium thiosulfate 
Antimony black Antimony trisulfide 
Antimony bloom Antimony trioxide 
Antimony glance Antimony trisulfide 
Aqua fortis Nitric acid 
Aromatic spirits of ammonia A 10% solution of ammonia 
Arsenic glass Arsenic trioxide 
Azurite Mineral form of basic copper carbonate 
Baking soda Sodium bicarbonate 
Barium white Barium sulfate 
Bicarbonate of soda Sodium hydrogen carbonate (sodium bicarbonate) 
Bichrome Potassium dichromate 
Bitter salt Magnesium sulfate 
Black ash Crude form of sodium carbonate 
Black lead Graphite 
Blanc-fixe Barium sulfate 
Bleaching powder Calcium hypochlorite 
Blue copperas Copper sulfate (crystals) 
Blue lead Lead sulfate 
Blue salts Nickel sulfate 
Blue stone Copper sulfate (crystals) 
Blue vitriol Copper sulfate (crystals) 
Bone ash Crude calcium phosphate 
Bone black Crude animal charcoal 
Boracic acid Boric acid 
Borax Sodium tetraborate 
Bremen blue Basic copper carbonate 
Brimstone Sulfur 
Burnt alum Anhydrous potassium aluminum sulfate 
Burnt lime Calcium oxide 
Burnt ochre or burnt ore Ferric oxide 
Calomel Mercurous chloride 
Carbolic acid Phenol 
Caustic "Any strongly alkaline material which has a corrosive or irritating effect on living tissue "    Hawley's condensed Chemical Dictionary 
Caustic lime Calcium hydroxide 
Caustic potash Potassium hydroxide 
Caustic soda Sodium hydroxide 
Chalk Calcium carbonate 
Chili nitre or chili saltpetre Sodium nitrate 
Chinese red Basic lead chromate 
Chinese white Zinc oxide 
Chloride of lime Calcium hypochlorite 
Chloride of soda Sodium hypochlorite 
Chlorinated lime Calcium hypochlorite 
Chrome alum Potassium chromium sulfate 
Chrome green Chromium oxide 
Chrome red Basic lead chromate 
Chrome yellow Lead chromate 
Chromic acid Chromium trioxide 
Common salt Sodium chloride 
Copperas (blue) Copper sulfate (crystals) 
Copperas (green) Ferrous sulfate 
Corundum Chiefly aluminum oxide 
Cream of tartar Potassium hydrogen tartrate 
Crocus Ferric oxide 
Crystal carbonate Sodium carbonate 
Dechlor Sodium thiosulfate 
Epsom salts Magnesium sulfate 
Farina Starch 
Ferro-prussiate Potassium ferrocyanide 
Ferrum Iron 
Fixed white Barium sulfate 
"Flowers" of sulfur Sulfur 
"Flowers" of a metal Obsolete term for an oxide of a metal e g  flowers of zinc is zinc oxide 
French verdigris Basic copper acetate 
Glauber's salt Sodium sulfate 
Green verditer Basic copper carbonate 
Green vitriol Ferrous sulfate (crystals) 
Gypsum Calcium sulfate 
Heavy spar Barium sulfate 
Hypo Sodium thiosulfate 
Indian red Ferric oxide 
Isinglass Agar-agar, gelatine 
Jewellers' rouge Ferric oxide 
Lampblack Crude form of carbon 
Lead peroxide Lead dioxide 
Lead protoxide Lead oxide 
Lime Calcium oxide 
Lime (pickling) Calcium hydroxide 
Liquor ammonia Ammonium hydroxide (soln ) 
Litharge Lead monoxide 
Liver of sulphur Potash sulfurated 
Lunar caustic Silver nitrate 
Lye (soda lye) Sodium hydroxide 
Magnesia Magnesium oxide 
Manganese black Manganese dioxide 
Marble Calcium carbonate 
Milk of lime Calcium hydroxide 
Milk of magnesium Magnesium hydroxide 
Milk of sulphur Precipitated sulfur 
Mohrs salt Ferrous ammonium sulfate 
"Muriate" of a metal The metal chloride 
Muriatic acid Hydrochloric acid 
Natron Sodium carbonate 
Nitre Potassium nitrate 
Oil of vitriol Concentrated sulfuric acid 
Oleic acid CIS-9-octadecenoic acid 
Paris blue Ferric ferrocyanide 
Pearl ash Anhydrous potassium carbonate 
Permanent white Barium sulfate 
Plaster of Paris Calcium sulfate 
Plumbago Graphite 
Precipitated chalk Calcium carbonate 
Prussian blue Ferric ferrocyanide 
Quicklime Calcium oxide 
Quicksilver Mercury 
Red lead Lead tetroxide 
Red liquor Aluminum acetate (soln ) 
Red prussiate of potash Potassium ferricyanide
Red prussiate of soda Sodium ferricyanide
Rochelle salt Potassium sodium tartrate
Rock salt Sodium chloride
Rouge Ferric oxide
Sal ammoniac Ammonium chloride 
Salt Sodium chloride 
Salt of tartar or salt of wormwood Potassium carbonate 
Saltpetre Potassium nitrate 
Slaked lime Calcium hydroxide 
Soda ash Anhydrous sodium carbonate 
Soda lime Mixture of calcium oxide and sodium hydroxide 
Soda monohydrate Sodium carbonate (crystals) 
Soda nitre Sodium nitrate 
Soda or washing soda (crystals) Sodium carbonate (crystals) 
Sour salt Citric acid 
Spirit of hartshorn Ammonia solution 
Spirit of salt Hydrochloric acid 
Spirit of wine Ethanol (ethyl alcohol) 
Sugar of lead Lead acetate 
Tin crystals Stannous chloride 
Trona Sodium carbonate (natural) 
Unslaked lime Calcium oxide 
Venetian red Ferric oxide 
Verdigris Basic copper acetate 
Vienna lime Calcium carbonate 
Vinegar Crude form of acetic acid 
Vitriol Sulfuric acid 
Washing soda Sodium carbonate (crystals) 
Waterglass Sodium silicate (soln  ) 
White caustic Sodium hydroxide 
White lead Basic lead carbonate 
White vitriol Zinc sulfate (crystal) 
Whiting Calcium carbonate 
Yellow prussiate of potash Potassium ferrocyanide 
Yellow prussiate of soda Sodium ferrocyanide 
Zinc vitriol Zinc sulfate 
Zinc white Zinc oxide