Hypertext Webster Gateway: "saponification"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
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.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
saponification
n : a chemical reaction in which an ester is heated with an
alkali (especially the alkaline hydrolysis of a fat or
oil to make soap)
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