Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Salicylic \Sal`i*cyl"ic\, a. (Chem.)
   Pertaining to, derived from, or designating, an acid formerly
   obtained by fusing salicin with potassium hydroxide, and now
   made in large quantities from phenol (carbolic acid) by the
   action of carbon dioxide on heated sodium phenolate. It is a
   white crystalline substance. It is used as an antiseptic, and
   in its salts in the treatment of rheumatism. Called also
   {hydroxybenzoic} acid.