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glycerol

 - 4 dictionary results

glyc⋅er⋅ol

[glis-uh-rawl, -rol]
–noun
a colorless, odorless, syrupy, sweet liquid, C3H8O3, usually obtained by the saponification of natural fats and oils: used for sweetening and preserving food, in the manufacture of cosmetics, perfumes, inks, and certain glues and cements, as a solvent and automobile antifreeze, and in medicine in suppositories and skin emollients.
Also called glycerin, glycerine.


Origin:
1880–85; glycer(in) + -ol 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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glyc·er·ol   (glĭs'ə-rôl', -rōl')   
n.  A syrupy, sweet, colorless or yellowish liquid, C3H8O3, obtained from fats and oils as a byproduct of saponification and used as a solvent, an antifreeze, a plasticizer, and a sweetener and in the manufacture of dynamite, cosmetics, liquid soaps, inks, and lubricants.

[glycer(in) + -ol1.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: glyc·er·ol
Pronunciation: 'glis-&-"rol, -"rOl
Function: noun
: a sweet syrupy hygroscopic trihydroxy alcoholC3H8O3 usually obtained by the saponification of fats and used especially as a solvent and plasticizer, as a moistening agent, emollient, and lubricant, and as anemulsifying agent called also glycerin
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

glycerol glyc·er·ol (glĭs'ə-rôl', -rōl')
n.
A sweet syrupy fluid obtained by the saponification of fats and fixed oils, used as a solvent, a skin emollient, and as a vehicle and sweetening agent; it is also used by injection or in suppository form for constipation and orally to reduce ocular tension.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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