stearin

[ stee-uh-rin, steer-in ]

noun

Chemistry. any of the three glyceryl esters of stearic acid, especially C3H5(C18H35O2)3, a soft, white, odorless solid found in many natural fats.
the crude commercial form of stearic acid, used chiefly in the manufacture of candles.

Origin of stearin

1810–20; <French stéarine<Greek stéar fat, grease + French -ine-ine²; see -in²

Also ste·a·rine [stee-er-in, -uh-reen, steer-in]. /ˈsti ər ɪn, -əˌrin, ˈstɪər ɪn/.

Words Nearby stearin

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

How to use stearin in a sentence

Lard is very often adulterated with cottonseed oil, cottonseed stearin and beef stearin.
Detection of the Common Food Adulterants | Edwin M. Bruce
The quantity of stearin to be added is at the rate of half a part to 100 parts of sand.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I | Arnold Cooley
It contains large quantities of stearin and has a low iodine value, making it a slow drying oil.
Paint Technology and Tests | Henry A. Gardner
It contains a little stearin which begins to be deposited at 9° and is entirely solidified at 0°.
The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines | T. H. Pardo de Tavera
The protein of the yolk is chiefly in the form of ovovitellin, while the fats occur as palmitin, olein, and stearin.
Dietetics for Nurses | Fairfax T. Proudfit

British Dictionary definitions for stearin

stearin

stearine

/ (ˈstɪərɪn) /

noun

Also called: tristearin a colourless crystalline ester of glycerol and stearic acid, present in fats and used in soap and candles; glycerol tristearate; glycerol trioctadecanoate. Formula: (C 17 H 35 COO) 3 C 3 H 5
another name for stearic acid, esp a commercial grade containing other fatty acids

fat in its solid form

Origin of stearin

C19: from French stéarine, from Greek stear fat, tallow + -in

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

Scientific definitions for stearin

stearin

[ stē′ər-ĭn, stîr′ĭn ]

A colorless, odorless, tasteless ester of glycerol and stearic acid found in most animal and vegetable fats and used in the manufacture of soaps, candles, metal polishes, and adhesives.Chemical formula: C57H110O6.
The solid form of fat.

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