saponify

Verb

WordNet 3.0

Verb (2)

  1. become converted into soap by being hydrolized into an acid and alcohol as a result of being treated with an alkali“the oil saponified”
  2. convert into soap by hydrolizing an ester into an acid and alcohol as a result of treating it with an alkali“saponify oils and fats”
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Saponify \Sa*pon"i*fy\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Saponified; p. pr. & vb. n. Saponifying.] [L. sapo, -onis, soap + -fy: cf. F. saponifier.] To convert into soap, as tallow or any fat; hence (Chem.), to subject to any similar process, as that which ethereal salts undergo in decomposition; as, to saponify ethyl acetate. [1913 Webster]
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