saponify

verb

convert into soap by hydrolizing an ester into an acid and alcohol as a result of treating it with an alkali

become converted into soap by being hydrolized into an acid and alcohol as a result of being treated with an alkali

Roots

saposapon- · Latin · soap ii- · Latin · connective facere-fy · Latin · to make

Synonyms & related words for saponify

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Words related to saponify

Explore words related to saponify — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include nonsaponifiable, saponifiable, saponification, hydrogenate, esterify, dehydrogenate, soap, sebate. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Where does saponify come from?

The word saponify breaks down into 3 roots of Latin origin: sapon, from Latin sapo (“soap”); i, from Latin i (“connective”); and -fy, from Latin facere (“to make”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.