saponify
To "saponify," sez MW11, is "to convert (as fat) into soap."
Not exactly a word that one is likely to need in everyday use.
2 Responses to “saponify”
-
Fred
Sapo is spanish for toad.
It is too bad this word does not mean “turning people into toads”.
-
John Schoffstall
You’d use it every day if you were a soap manufacturer!
It’s a very cool word for horror writers.
Forensic pathologists and archaeologists might not use it every day, but they have occasion to use it reasonably often. Human flesh will saponify under certain conditions, turning into adipocere, another strange, neat word.
Join the Conversation