margarine

Meaning

Noun

• A spread, manufactured from a blend of vegetable oils (some of which are hydrogenated), emulsifiers etc, mostly used as a substitute for butter.
• The solid ingredient of human fat, olive oil, etc.

Related

Similar words

• marg/marge

Origin

• Borrowed from French margarine, from acide margarique, from Ancient Greek μάργαρον, in allusion to its pearly lustre, with the suffix -ine, influenced by glycérine. French chemist Michel Eugène Chevreul named margaric acid after its pearl-like crystallization.