adipocere, adipocire

[In Fr. adipocire; Lat. adeps fat, and cera, Gr. κηρός ( kēros ) = wax.] A chemical substance in its character somewhat resembling wax or spermaceti. It arises through the chemistry of nature, when the bodies of men and animals buried in soil of a certain kind are subjected to the action of running water, or otherwise brought in contact with moisture. In such circumstances the soft parts of the corpses, instead of decaying, may become transformed into adipocere. A notable case of the kind occurred in a Paris i an burial ground in the year 1787. Mineral adipocere is a name given to a certain fatty matter found in the argillaceous iron ore of Merthyr.