Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Having the qualities of soap.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Soapy; resembling soap; having the properties of soap. Saponaceous bodies are compounds of an acid and a base, and are in reality a kind of salts.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Resembling soap; having the qualities of soap; soapy.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Resembling soap; having the qualities of soap; soapy.
- adjective Slippery, evasive
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective resembling or having the qualities of soap
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word saponaceous.
Examples
-
The Natives of India profess to have found an antidote to, and cure for, hydrophobia in the reetah [7] berry, described as a saponaceous nut.
Observations on the Mussulmauns of India Descriptive of Their Manners, Customs, Habits and Religious Opinions Made During a Twelve Years' Residence in Their Immediate Society Mrs. Meer Hasan Ali 1885
-
The word "saponaceous" necessarily elicited a bitter retort from Bishop Wilberforce; but perhaps the most valuable judgment on the whole matter was rendered by Bishop Tait, who declared, "These things have so effectually frightened the clergy that I think there is scarcely a bishop on the bench, unless it be the Bishop of St. David's [Thirlwall], that is not useless for the purpose of preventing the widespread alienation of intelligent men."
A History of the warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom 1896
-
Caustic potash, as we already observed, acts on the skin, and animal fibre, in virtue of its attraction for water and oil, and converts all animal matter into a kind of saponaceous jelly.
-
An alkaline salt, for instance, gives to the front part an acid, styptic, salt, or sweet taste, but communicates to the posterior part a basic, bitter, or saponaceous taste.
-
As oxide of zinc does not readily form a saponaceous compound with fats or oil like white lead, the paint prepared with it and ordinary linseed oil does not dry or harden so rapidly.
Field's Chromatography or Treatise on Colours and Pigments as Used by Artists George Field
-
It would appear that when the oxychloride is used as a paint, the oxide contained in it gives rise to an oleate of lead, and, in consequence of this saponaceous matter, is capable of spreading over an extended surface.
Field's Chromatography or Treatise on Colours and Pigments as Used by Artists George Field
-
The cortical part of the root yields a milky saponaceous juice which is very bitter and slightly sedative.
Herbal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of Cure William Thomas Fernie
-
_When dry it did not fear water_; though a saponaceous medium, it was not again soluble in water.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 57, No. 357, June, 1845 Various
-
The root, which is the saponaceous portion of the plant, resembles the onion, but possesses the quality of cleansing linen equal to any "oleic soap" manufactured by my friends Cornwall and Brother, of
What I Saw in California Edwin Bryant
-
It requires attention that an excess of dryer renders oil saponaceous, is inimical to drying, and is otherwise injurious.
Field's Chromatography or Treatise on Colours and Pigments as Used by Artists George Field
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.