Glycerin

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Glycerin \Glyc"er*in\, Glycerine \Glyc"er*ine\, n. [F.
     glyc['e]rine, fr. Gr. glykero`s, glyky`s, sweet. Cf.
     {Glucose}, {Licorice}.] (Chem.)
     An oily, viscous liquid, {C3H5(OH)3}, colorless and odorless,
     and with a hot, sweetish taste, existing in the natural fats
     and oils as the base, combined with various acids, as oleic,


     margaric, stearic, and palmitic. It may be obtained by
     saponification of fats and oils. It is a triatomic alcohol,
     and hence is also called {glycerol}. See Note under
     {Gelatin}.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: It is obtained from fats by saponification, or, on a
           large scale, by the action of superheated steam. It is
           used as an ointment, as a solvent and vehicle for
           medicines, and as an adulterant in wine, beer, etc.
           [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  glycerin
       n : a sweet syrupy trihydroxy alcohol obtained by saponification
           of fats and oils [syn: {glycerol}, {glycerine}]