English edit

Etymology edit

From French saponifier, from Late Latin sāpō, sāpōnem (soap).

Verb edit

saponify (third-person singular simple present saponifies, present participle saponifying, simple past and past participle saponified)

  1. (transitive) To convert (a fat or oil) into soap.
  2. (intransitive) To be converted into soap.
  3. (transitive, chemistry) To hydrolyze (an ester) using an alkali.

Related terms edit

Translations edit