verseifen

German

Etymology

ver- (to change state) +‎ Seife (soap) +‎ -en

Pronunciation

  • Audio:(file)

Verb

verseifen (weak, third-person singular present verseift, past tense verseifte, past participle verseift, auxiliary haben)

  1. (chemistry) to saponify
    • 1859, Jacob Moleschott, Die Verdauung der Fette, pages 66–67:
      Zwar sind kohlensaure Alkalien im Stande, neutrale Fette zu verseifen, und die Galle könnte sich also durch ihren Gehalt an kohlensaurem Natron in dieser Richtung wirksam erweisen.
      On the one hand, alkaline carbonates have the potential to saponify neutral fats, and the bile could be seen in this way due to its sodium carbonate content.

Conjugation

Derived terms

Further reading