glycerol

[ glis-uh-rawl, -rol ]

/ ˈglɪs əˌrɔl, -ˌrɒl /

noun

a colorless, odorless, syrupy, sweet liquid, C3H8O3, usually obtained by the saponification of natural fats and oils: used for sweetening and preserving food, in the manufacture of cosmetics, perfumes, inks, and certain glues and cements, as a solvent and automobile antifreeze, and in medicine in suppositories and skin emollients.

Nearby words

glyceride, glycerin, glycerinate, glycerine, glycerite, glycerol, glycerolysis, glyceryl, glyceryl group, glyceryl monoacetate, glyceryl trinitrate

Origin of glycerol

First recorded in 1880–85; glycer(in) + -ol¹

Also called glycerin, glycerine.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for glycerol

Glycerol Caustic Solution—Dissolve 250 g. potassium hydroxide in 1900 cc.
Soap-Making Manual|E. G. Thomssen
The materials vary in glycerol content with the methods of preparation; especially is this the case with tallows and greases.
The Handbook of Soap Manufacture|W. H. Simmons
Caustic soda cannot be substituted for caustic potash in the glycerol method.
Soap-Making Manual|E. G. Thomssen
Oxygen consumption was increased by the presence of added catalase at all glycerol levels and in the control.
Preservation of Bull Semen at Sub-Zero Temperatures|N. L. VanDemark

Glycerol possesses all the characteristic properties of an alcohol, forming alcoholates with alkalies, esters with acids, etc.
The Chemistry of Plant Life|Roscoe Wilfred Thatcher

British Dictionary definitions for glycerol

glycerol

/ (ˈɡlɪsəˌrɒl) /

noun

a colourless or pale yellow odourless sweet-tasting syrupy liquid; 1,2,3-propanetriol: a by-product of soap manufacture, used as a solvent, antifreeze, plasticizer, and sweetener (E422). Formula: C 3 H 8 O 3Also called (not in technical usage): glycerine, glycerin

Word Origin for glycerol

C19: from glycer (ine) + -ol 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for glycerol

glycerol

1884, from glycerine + -ol, suffix denoting alcohols.

Medicine definitions for glycerol

glycerol

[ glĭs′ə-rôl′, -rōl′ ]

n.

A sweet syrupy fluid obtained by the saponification of fats and fixed oils, used as a solvent, a skin emollient, and as a vehicle and sweetening agent; it is also used by injection or in suppository form for constipation and orally to reduce ocular tension.

Science definitions for glycerol

glycerol

[ glĭs′ə-rôl′ ]

A sweet, syrupy liquid obtained from animal fats and oils or by the fermentation of glucose. It is used as a solvent, sweetener, and antifreeze and in making explosives and soaps. Glycerol consists of a propane molecule attached to three hydroxyl (OH) groups. Also called glycerin, glycerine. Chemical formula: C3H8O3.