oil of vitriol
"oil-of-vitriol" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“oil of vitriol” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 14
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Sulfuric acid.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | oil of vitriol |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 14 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “oil of vitriol” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
oil of vitriol is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Sulfuric acid.".
oil of vitriol has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: So called from its oily consistency and from its forming the "vitriols" or sulfates. This term was coined by the 8th-century alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan, the chemical's probable discoverer. The correct English form is oil of vitriol, spelled O-I-L- -O-F- -V-I-T-R-I-O-L.
Definition
- 1Sulfuric acid.
Etymology
So called from its oily consistency and from its forming the "vitriols" or sulfates. This term was coined by the 8th-century alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan, the chemical's probable discoverer.
Synonyms
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “oil of vitriol”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is O-I-L- -O-F- -V-I-T-R-I-O-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.