saponification

3 definitions found

saponification - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Saponification \Sa*pon`i*fi*ca"tion\, n. [Cf. F. saponification.
     See Saponify.]
     The act, process, or result, of soap making; conversion into
     soap; specifically (Chem.), the decomposition of fats and
     other ethereal salts by alkalies; as, the saponification of
     ethyl acetate.
     [1913 Webster]

  Hydrolysis \Hy*drol"y*sis\, n. [Hydro-, 1 + -lysis.] (Chem.)
     A chemical process causing the splitting of a chemical bond
     by the addition of the elements of water. Where the bond
     which is split is not part of a ring structure, this process
     causes formation of two compounds from one compound plus
     water, as in the hydrolysis of the ester bonds of fats during
     saponification.
     [Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC]

saponification - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  saponification
      n 1: a chemical reaction in which an ester is heated with an
           alkali (especially the alkaline hydrolysis of a fat or oil
           to make soap)