The Collaborative International Dictionary
Saponify \Sa*pon"i*fy\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Saponified; p. pr. & vb. n. Saponifying.] [L. sapo, -onis, soap + -fy: cf. F. saponifier.] To convert into soap, as tallow or any fat; hence (Chem.), to subject to any similar process, as that which ethereal salts undergo in decomposition; as, to saponify ethyl acetate.
Wiktionary
vb. (present participle of saponify English)
Usage examples of "saponifying".
It was then necessary to separate the glycerine from the fat by saponifying it.
Can be isolated by first saponifying the oil, and then exhausting the resulting soap with ether.
A series of brief clips would convey an impression of the operation and of its sequels: the transfer of the supposed river water into the washing machine ashore and the supposed addition of the miraculously saponifying Product, in order, that a collection of the town’s most gruesomely stained articles of apparel might supposedly be cleansed to the astonishment, edification and high delight of the beholders.
After scraping, the hide was soaked in ammonia, then washed with saponifying roots that made a soapy lather, then softened with the brain mixture and burnished with powdered kaolin, a fine white clay mixed in very pure tallow.