Associations to the word «Saponification»

Wiktionary

SAPONIFICATION, noun. (chemistry) The hydrolysis of an ester under basic conditions to form an alcohol and the salt of the acid.
SAPONIFICATION, noun. The reaction of a metallic alkali (base) with a fat or oil to form soap.

Dictionary definition

SAPONIFICATION, noun. A chemical reaction in which an ester is heated with an alkali (especially the alkaline hydrolysis of a fat or oil to make soap).

Wise words

Language is a process of free creation; its laws and principles are fixed, but the manner in which the principles of generation are used is free and infinitely varied. Even the interpretation and use of words involves a process of free creation.
Noam Chomsky