saponify

From French saponifier, from Late Latin sāpō, sāpōnem (“soap”).

saponify (third-person singular simple present saponifies, present participle saponifying, simple past and past participle saponified)

1. (transitive) To convert (a fat or oil) into soap.
2. (intransitive) To be converted into soap.
3. (transitive, chemistry) To hydrolyze (an ester) using an alkali.

• saponification