1375-1425;late Middle Englisharmoniac, ammoniak < Latinammōniacum < Greekammōniakón (neuter of ammōniakós of Ammon; see -i-, -ac), applied to a salt and a gum resin prepared near the Shrine of Ammon in Libya
Examples from the web for ammoniac
The hiss was explosive and he turned his face from the acrid ammoniac steam.
a strong-smelling gum resin obtained from the stems of the N Asian umbelliferous plant Dorema ammoniacum and formerly used as an expectorant, stimulant, perfume, and in porcelain cement Also called gum ammoniac
Word Origin
C14: from Latin ammōniacum, from Greek ammōniakos belonging to Ammon (apparently the gum resin was extracted from plants found in Libya near the temple of Ammon)
ammoniac in Medicine
ammoniac am·mo·ni·ac (ə-mō'nē-āk') n. A strong-smelling gum resin from the stems of a plant of western Asia, formerly used in perfumery and in medicine as an expectorant and a stimulant.