noun
Etymology: translation of French acide nitrique
: a corrosive liquid inorganic acid HNO 3 made usually by the catalytic oxidation of ammonia or by the action of sulfuric acid on nitrates and used chiefly as an oxidizing agent (as in rocket propellants), in nitrations, and in the manufacture of fertilizers, explosives, dyes, nitroparaffins, and a variety of other organic compounds : aquafortis — see aqua regia , fuming nitric acid