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stearin

American  
[stee-uh-rin, steer-in] / ˈsti ə rɪn, ˈstɪər ɪn /
Also stearine

noun

  1. Chemistry. any of the three glyceryl esters of stearic acid, especially C 3 H 5 (C 1 8 H 3 5 O2 ) 3 , a soft, white, odorless solid found in many natural fats.

  2. the crude commercial form of stearic acid, used chiefly in the manufacture of candles.


stearin British  
/ ˈstɪərɪn /

noun

  1. 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

  2. another name for stearic acid, esp a commercial grade containing other fatty acids

  3. fat in its solid form

"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

stearin Scientific  
/ stēər-ĭn,stîrĭn /
  1. 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: C 57 H 110 O 6 .

  2. The solid form of fat.


Etymology

Origin of stearin

1810–20; < French stéarine < Greek stéar fat, grease + French -ine -ine 2; see -in 2

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:

Cotton seeds now contribute to the manufacture of refined oils, stearin, soap, nitroglycerine, roofing paint, writing paper, nitrocellulose, smokeless powder, lacquers, artificial leather, celluloid, rayon, photographic films, sausage casings, toilet ware, furfural, etc., etc.

From Time Magazine Archive

Grease a mold or ovenproof dish with paraffin or stearin and bake for 2½ hours.

From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank

An oil is produced by pressing the white kernel of the nut which is used for cooking when fresh, and by pressure affords stearin, which is made into candles, the liquid being used for lamps.

From Catalogue of Economic Plants in the Collection of the U. S. Department of Agriculture by William Saunders

Butter fat consists principally of olein, palmitin, and stearin.

From An Elementary Study of Chemistry by William McPherson

Our countrymen have also made most valuable improvements in refining sugar, in the manufacture of lard oil and stearin candles, and the preservation of timber by Earle's process.

From Continental Monthly , Vol. 6, No. 1, July, 1864 Devoted to Literature and National Policy. by Various

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