SAPONINS

Noun

saponins

plural of saponin

Source: Wiktionary


SAPONIN

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



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Word of the Day

28 March 2024

HUDDLED

(adjective) crowded or massed together; “give me...your huddled masses”; “the huddled sheep turned their backs against the wind”


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Coffee Trivia

Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be “dancing” after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. That’s how the first coffee drink was born.

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