sa·line

[sey-leen, -lahyn]
adjective
1.
of, containing, or resembling common table salt; salty or saltlike: a saline solution.
2.
of or pertaining to a chemical salt, especially of sodium, potassium, magnesium, etc., as used as a cathartic.
3.
of or pertaining to a method of abortion involving injection of hypertonic saline solution into the amniotic cavity during the second trimester.
noun
4.
a sterile solution of sodium chloride used to dilute medications or for intravenous therapy.
5.
salty water; a salty solution.
00:10
Salinity is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
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Origin:
1400–50; Middle English: composed of salt < Latin salīnus salty, equivalent to sal sal + -īnus -ine1

Related forms
sa·lin·i·ty [suh-lin-i-tee] , noun
hy·per·sa·line, adjective
hy·per·sa·lin·i·ty, noun
non·sa·line, adjective
non·sa·lin·i·ty, noun
sem·i·sa·line, adjective
sub·sa·line, adjective
sub·sa·lin·i·ty, noun
un·sa·line, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To salinity
Collins
World English Dictionary
saline (ˈseɪlaɪn) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—adj
1.  of, concerned with, consisting of, or containing common salt: a saline taste
2.  med of or relating to a saline
3.  of, concerned with, consisting of, or containing any chemical salt, esp a metallic salt resembling sodium chloride
 
—n
4.  med an isotonic solution of sodium chloride in distilled water
 
[C15: from Late Latin salīnus, from Latin sal salt]
 
salinity
 
—n

saline (ˈseɪlaɪn) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—adj
1.  of, concerned with, consisting of, or containing common salt: a saline taste
2.  med of or relating to a saline
3.  of, concerned with, consisting of, or containing any chemical salt, esp a metallic salt resembling sodium chloride
 
—n
4.  med an isotonic solution of sodium chloride in distilled water
 
[C15: from Late Latin salīnus, from Latin sal salt]
 
salinity
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

saline
1450, probably from a Latin word related to salinum "salt cellar" and salinæ "salt pits," from sal (gen. salis) "salt" (see salt).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

saline sa·line (sā'lēn', -līn')
adj.

  1. Of, relating to, or containing salt; salty.

  2. Of or relating to chemical salts.

n.

  1. A salt of magnesium or of the alkalis, used in medicine as a cathartic.

  2. A saline solution, especially one that is isotonic to blood.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
saline   (sā'lēn')  Pronunciation Key 
Of or containing salt.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
The higher salinity has weakened the marshes and the animals that call them
  home.
Other culprits: inflows of fresh water, high ultraviolet radiation, and changes
  in salinity.
Discovering how factors such as salinity can affect the health and life of
  aquatic plants and animals.
It's super-salinity both allows it to become colder than ice, and sink, as it's
  denser than sea water.
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