Spermace'ti

[U. sperm a, seed; and cet us, a whale.] A kind of fat from the head of the sperm whale used in making candles, ointments, and cosmetics. It is a semi-fluid substance which, on being taken from the animal, hardens as it cools. The large head is partly occupied by a cavity containing spermaceti, and other cavities throughout the body are also filled with it. It consists of salts of palmitic acid and ethal and hydrocarbon bases. Encyclopedic Dictionary of Common Things