saponify
Americanverb (used with object)
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to convert (a fat) into soap by treating with an alkali.
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to decompose (any ester), forming the corresponding alcohol and acid or salt.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to undergo or cause to undergo a process in which a fat is converted into a soap by treatment with alkali
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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
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of saponify
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It is used for cleansing the hair, for which purpose a handful is put to soak in a basin of water overnight, and the next morning it will saponify when rubbed between the hands.
From The Philippine Islands by Foreman, John
To saponify a ton of rosin there are required 200 lbs. soda ash, 1,600 lbs. water and 100 lbs. salt.
From Soap-Making Manual A Practical Handbook on the Raw Materials, Their Manipulation, Analysis and Control in the Modern Soap Plant. by Thomssen, E. G.
Benzine does not act like an alkali; it does not saponify the greasy body, but it dissolves it as water dissolves a salt, a gum or gelatine.
From Book Repair and Restoration by Buck, Mitchell
But to simplify the operation, he preferred to saponify the fat by means of lime.
From The Mysterious Island by Verne, Jules
This oil closely resembles cocoa-nut and palm-nut oils and is stated to saponify readily and yield a soap free from odour.
From The Handbook of Soap Manufacture by Simmons, W. H.
As has been stated, rosin may be saponified by the use of alkaline carbonates.
From Soap-Making Manual A Practical Handbook on the Raw Materials, Their Manipulation, Analysis and Control in the Modern Soap Plant. by Thomssen, E. G.
The oil is now dried with anhydrous sodium sulphate, filtered, and 1-2 grammes weighed into a flask and saponified with alcoholic potash as in the determination of ester or saponification value.
From The Handbook of Soap Manufacture by Simmons, W. H.
A good procedure is to use open steam for a period of about two hours, then close the valve and allow the saponification to continue without boiling, and repeat this until it is entirely saponified.
From Soap-Making Manual A Practical Handbook on the Raw Materials, Their Manipulation, Analysis and Control in the Modern Soap Plant. by Thomssen, E. G.
The alcohols are estimated by conversion into their acetic esters, which are then saponified with standard alcoholic potash, thereby furnishing a measure of the amount of alcohol esterified.
From The Handbook of Soap Manufacture by Simmons, W. H.
To rapidly determine whether the color easily washes out of the tallow with lye, 100 cubic centimeters of tallow are saponified in an enameled or iron dish with 100 cubic centimeters of 21 degs.
From Soap-Making Manual A Practical Handbook on the Raw Materials, Their Manipulation, Analysis and Control in the Modern Soap Plant. by Thomssen, E. G.
Thus, if we use caustic alkali as our saponifying agent for a fat or oil, we obtain the sodium or potassium salt of the higher fatty acids or soap and the alcohol, glycerine.
From Soap-Making Manual A Practical Handbook on the Raw Materials, Their Manipulation, Analysis and Control in the Modern Soap Plant. by Thomssen, E. G.
In saponifying a freshly stocked kettle it is apt to bunch.
From Soap-Making Manual A Practical Handbook on the Raw Materials, Their Manipulation, Analysis and Control in the Modern Soap Plant. by Thomssen, E. G.
These acids, being in combination with the bases of the oil, would be set free only on saponifying the oil and subsequently decomposing with acid.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 497, July 11, 1885 by Various
Glycerine is generally made on the large scale, on the one hand, by directly saponifying oil with the oxide of lead, or, on the other, from the "waste liquor" of soap manufacturers.
From The Art of Perfumery And Methods of Obtaining the Odors of Plants by Piesse, George William Septimus
In the glycerin industry the lyes obtained by saponifying the fats are first evaporated with “wet vacuum” and finally distilled with closed and live steam and a “dry vacuum.”
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 5 "Dinard" to "Dodsworth" by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
