saponify

[ suh-pon-uh-fahy ]

/ səˈpɒn əˌfaɪ /

Chemistry

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verb (used with object), sa·pon·i·fied, sa·pon·i·fy·ing.

to convert (a fat) into soap by treating with an alkali.

to decompose (any ester), forming the corresponding alcohol and acid or salt.

verb (used without object), sa·pon·i·fied, sa·pon·i·fy·ing.

to become converted into soap.

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Origin of saponify

1815–25; <Latin sāpōn- (stem of sāpō) soap + -ify

OTHER WORDS FROM saponify

sa·pon·i·fi·a·ble, adjectivesa·pon·i·fi·ca·tion, nounsa·pon·i·fi·er, nounnon·sa·pon·i·fi·a·ble, adjective

non·sa·pon·i·fi·ca·tion, nounun·sa·pon·i·fi·a·ble, adjectiveun·sa·pon·i·fied, adjective

Words nearby saponify

sapodilla, sapodilla family, saponaceous, saponaria, saponification number, saponify, saponin, saponite, sapor, sap orchard, saporific

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use saponify in a sentence

They are then placed in fairly strong limes for two or three days to swell the fibres and saponify the grease.
Leather|K. J. Adcock
In any method it is necessary to saponify or emulsify the grease on the grain, or difficulties occur in dyeing and finishing.
Animal Proteins|Hugh Garner Bennett
They also saponify and emulsify the grease, and it is obvious, therefore, that liming can be carried too far.
Animal Proteins|Hugh Garner Bennett
Next to olive oil, this species is the most easy to saponify.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines|Andrew Ure

If any does get on, a little animal grease or vegetable oil will quickly saponify it.
Electric Gas Lighting|Norman H. Schneider

British Dictionary definitions for saponify

saponify

/ (səˈpɒnɪˌfaɪ) /

verb -fies, -fying or -fied chem

to undergo or cause to undergo a process in which a fat is converted into a soap by treatment with alkali

to undergo or cause to undergo a reaction in which an ester is hydrolysed to an acid and an alcohol as a result of treatment with an alkali

Derived forms of saponify

saponifiable, adjectivesaponifier, nounsaponification, noun

Word Origin for saponify

C19: from French saponifier, from Latin sāpō soap

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