Castile soap

Castile soap
Soap Soap, n. [OE. sope, AS. s[=a]pe; akin to D. zeep, G. seife, OHG. seifa, Icel. s[=a]pa, Sw. s?pa, Dan. s?be, and perhaps to AS. s[=i]pan to drip, MHG. s[=i]fen, and L. sebum tallow. Cf. {Saponaceous}.] A substance which dissolves in water, thus forming a lather, and is used as a cleansing agent. Soap is produced by combining fats or oils with alkalies or alkaline earths, usually by boiling, and consists of salts of sodium, potassium, etc., with the fatty acids (oleic, stearic, palmitic, etc.). See the Note below, and cf. {Saponification}. By extension, any compound of similar composition or properties, whether used as a cleaning agent or not. [1913 Webster]

Note: In general, soaps are of two classes, hard and soft. Calcium, magnesium, lead, etc., form soaps, but they are insoluble and useless. [1913 Webster]

The purifying action of soap depends upon the fact that it is decomposed by a large quantity of water into free alkali and an insoluble acid salt. The first of these takes away the fatty dirt on washing, and the latter forms the soap lather which envelops the greasy matter and thus tends to remove it. --Roscoe & Schorlemmer. [1913 Webster]

{Castile soap}, a fine-grained hard soap, white or mottled, made of olive oil and soda; -- called also {Marseilles soap} or {Venetian soap}.

{Hard soap}, any one of a great variety of soaps, of different ingredients and color, which are hard and compact. All solid soaps are of this class.

{Lead soap}, an insoluble, white, pliable soap made by saponifying an oil (olive oil) with lead oxide; -- used externally in medicine. Called also {lead plaster}, {diachylon}, etc.

{Marine soap}. See under {Marine}.

{Pills of soap} (Med.), pills containing soap and opium.

{Potash soap}, any soap made with potash, esp. the soft soaps, and a hard soap made from potash and castor oil.

{Pumice soap}, any hard soap charged with a gritty powder, as silica, alumina, powdered pumice, etc., which assists mechanically in the removal of dirt.

{Resin soap}, a yellow soap containing resin, -- used in bleaching.

{Silicated soap}, a cheap soap containing water glass (sodium silicate).

{Soap bark}. (Bot.) See {Quillaia bark}.

{Soap bubble}, a hollow iridescent globe, formed by blowing a film of soap suds from a pipe; figuratively, something attractive, but extremely unsubstantial. [1913 Webster]

This soap bubble of the metaphysicians. --J. C. Shairp. [1913 Webster]

{Soap cerate}, a cerate formed of soap, olive oil, white wax, and the subacetate of lead, sometimes used as an application to allay inflammation.

{Soap fat}, the refuse fat of kitchens, slaughter houses, etc., used in making soap.

{Soap liniment} (Med.), a liniment containing soap, camphor, and alcohol.

{Soap nut}, the hard kernel or seed of the fruit of the soapberry tree, -- used for making beads, buttons, etc.

{Soap plant} (Bot.), one of several plants used in the place of soap, as the {Chlorogalum pomeridianum}, a California plant, the bulb of which, when stripped of its husk and rubbed on wet clothes, makes a thick lather, and smells not unlike new brown soap. It is called also {soap apple}, {soap bulb}, and {soap weed}.

{Soap tree}. (Bot.) Same as {Soapberry tree}.

{Soda soap}, a soap containing a sodium salt. The soda soaps are all hard soaps.

{Soft soap}, a soap of a gray or brownish yellow color, and of a slimy, jellylike consistence, made from potash or the lye from wood ashes. It is strongly alkaline and often contains glycerin, and is used in scouring wood, in cleansing linen, in dyehouses, etc. Figuratively, flattery; wheedling; blarney. [Colloq.]

{Toilet soap}, hard soap for the toilet, usually colored and perfumed. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Castile soap — Cas tile soap [From Castile, or Castilia, a province in Spain, from which it originally came.] A kind of fine, hard, white or mottled soap, made with olive oil and soda; also, a soap made in imitation of the above described soap. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Castile soap — n. 〚ME Castell sope, after CASTILE, where first made〛 [also c s ] a fine, mild, hard soap prepared from olive oil and sodium hydroxide * * * …   Universalium

  • Castile soap — n. [ME Castell sope, after CASTILE, where first made] [also c s ] a fine, mild, hard soap prepared from olive oil and sodium hydroxide …   English World dictionary

  • Castile soap — A bar of Castile soap. Castile soap is a name used in English speaking countries for olive oil based soap made in a style similar to that originating in the Castile region of Spain. Contents …   Wikipedia

  • Castile soap — /kæstil ˈsoʊp/ (say kasteel sohp) noun a soap made using olive oil. {from the Castile region of Spain where this style of soap originated} …  

  • castile soap — noun Usage: often capitalized C Etymology: Middle English castell sope, from Castell Castile Date: 15th century a fine hard bland soap made from olive oil and sodium hydroxide; also any of various similar soaps …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • castile soap — cas·tile soap (.)kas .tēl n a fine hard bland soap made from olive oil and sodium hydroxide also any of various similar soaps …   Medical dictionary

  • castile soap — type of soap that often contains olive oil …   English contemporary dictionary

  • castile soap — n. a fine hard white or mottled soap made with olive oil and soda. Etymology: as CASTILIAN …   Useful english dictionary

  • Castile — or Castilia or Castilla may refer to:;Places in Spain *Castile (historical region), an overview of the former kingdom, culture, and land that gradually merged with its neighbors to become the Kingdom of Spain *Old Castile, the northern region of… …   Wikipedia

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