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rancidity

 - 6 dictionary results

ran⋅cid

  [ran-sid]
Use rancidity in a Sentence
–adjective
1. having a rank, unpleasant, stale smell or taste, as through decomposition, esp. of fats or oils: rancid butter.
2. (of an odor or taste) rank, unpleasant, and stale: a rancid smell.
3. offensive or nasty; disagreeable.
Origin:
1640–50; < L rancidus rank, stinking, equiv. to ranc(ēre) to be rotten + -idus -id 4

Related forms:
ran⋅cid⋅ly, adverb
ran⋅cid⋅ness, ran⋅cid⋅i⋅ty, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ran·cid   (rān'sĭd)   
adj.  

  1. Having the disagreeable odor or taste of decomposing oils or fats; rank.

  2. Repugnant; nasty: rancid remarks.


[Latin rancidus, from rancēre, to stink, be rotten.]
ran·cid'i·ty, ran'cid·ness n.
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: ran·cid
Pronunciation: 'ran(t)-s&d
Function: adjective
: having a rank smell or taste usually from chemical change or decomposition<rancid butter>

Main Entry: ran·cid·i·ty
Pronunciation: ran-'sid-&t-E
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -ties
: the qualityor state of being rancid; also : a rancid odor or flavor
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

rancid ran·cid (rān'sĭd)
adj.
Having the disagreeable odor or taste of decomposing oils or fats.

ran·cid'i·ty or ran'cid·ness n.

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

rancidity

condition produced by aerial oxidation of unsaturated fat present in foods and other products, marked by unpleasant odour or flavour. When a fatty substance is exposed to air, its unsaturated components are converted into hydroperoxides, which break down into volatile aldehydes, esters, alcohols, ketones, and hydrocarbons, some of which have disagreeable odours. Butter becomes rancid by the foregoing process and by hydrolysis, which liberates volatile and malodorous acids, particularly butyric acid. Saturated fats such as beef tallow are resistant to oxidation and seldom become rancid at ordinary temperatures.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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