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saponification

 [suh-pon-uh-fahy]  

sa·pon·i·fy

   [suh-pon-uh-fahy] verb, -fied, -fy·ing. Chemistry
verb (used with object)
1.
to convert (a fat) into soap by treating with an alkali.
2.
to decompose (any ester), forming the corresponding alcohol and acid or salt.
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verb (used without object)
3.
to become converted into soap.

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So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
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Origin:
1815–25; < Latin sāpōn- (stem of sāpō) soap + -ify

Related forms
sa·pon·i·fi·a·ble, adjective
sa·pon·i·fi·ca·tion, noun
sa·pon·i·fi·er, noun
non·sa·pon·i·fi·a·ble, adjective
non·sa·pon·i·fi·ca·tion, noun
EXPAND
un·sa·pon·i·fi·a·ble, adjective
un·sa·pon·i·fied, adjective
COLLAPSE
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To saponification
Collins
World English Dictionary
saponify (səˈpɒnɪˌfaɪ)
 
—vb , -fies, -fying, -fied
1.  to undergo or cause to undergo a process in which a fat is converted into a soap by treatment with alkali
2.  to undergo or cause to undergo a reaction in which an ester is hydrolysed to an acid and an alcohol as a result of treatment with an alkali
 
[C19: from French saponifier, from Latin sāpōsoap]
 
sa'ponifiable
 
—adj
 
sa'ponifier
 
—n
 
saponifi'cation
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

saponification sa·pon·i·fi·ca·tion (sə-pŏn'ə-fĭ-kā'shən)
n.
A reaction in which an ester is heated with an alkali, such as sodium hydroxide, producing a free alcohol and an acid salt, especially alkaline hydrolysis of a fat or an oil to make soap.

saponify sa·pon·i·fy (sə-pŏn'ə-fī')
v. sa·pon·i·fied, sa·pon·i·fy·ing, sa·pon·i·fies
To undergo saponification.

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