SAPONIN

saponin

(noun) any of various plant glucosides that form soapy lathers when mixed and agitated with water; used in detergents and foaming agents and emulsifiers

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

saponin (plural saponins)

(organic chemistry, steroid) Any of various steroid glycosides found in plant tissues that dissolve in water to give a soapy froth.

Source: Wiktionary

Sap"o*nin, n. Etym: [L. sapo, -onis soap: cf. F. saponine.] (Chem.)

Definition: A poisonous glucoside found in many plants, as in the root of soapwort (Saponaria), in the bark of soap bark (Quillaia), etc. It is extracted as a white amorphus powder, which occasions a soapy lather in solution, and produces a local anæstesia. Formerly called also struthiin, quilaiin, senegin, polygalic acid, etc. By extension, any one of a group of related bodies of which saponin proper is the type.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition