Meanings
- countableuncountablemagnesium sulfate, used as a laxative and in the preparation of tofu as a coagulator, and formerly as a medicated soaking solution.
And who but July would know […] that her back needed to be rubbed after she had drank^([sic]) her Epsom salts so as to release, into a belch or fart, the wind that so plagued her.
2010, Andrea Levy, The Long Song, Tinder Press (2017), pages 71–72
Synonyms & antonyms
nounhydrated magnesium sulfate that is taken orally to treat heartburn and constipation and injected to prevent seizures
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Named after Epsom in Surrey, England; the town had a spring which gave forth bitter saline water containing the compound.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish karvassuola, katkerosuola
- karvassuolacommon name for magnesium sulfate
- katkerosuolacommon name for magnesium sulfate
Greek θειικό μαγνήσιο
- θειικό μαγνήσιο (theiikó magnísio)common name for magnesium sulfate
Hungarian keserűsó
- keserűsócommon name for magnesium sulfate
Russian англи́йская соль
- англи́йская соль (anglíjskaja solʹ)common name for magnesium sulfate
Yiddish ביטערזאַלץ, ענגלישע זאַלץ
- ביטערזאַלץ (biterzalts)common name for magnesium sulfate
- ענגלישע זאַלץ (englishe zalts)common name for magnesium sulfate
Cite this entry
Epsom salts. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Epsom%20salts
“Epsom salts.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Epsom%20salts. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Epsom salts,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Epsom%20salts.
Source: Epsom salts on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.