Coconut Oil
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Acronyms, Wikipedia.
coconut oil
[′kō·kə‚nət ‚ȯil] (materials)
A nearly colorless or yellow oil from fresh coconut (Cocos nucifera) or from copra (dried coconut); used in foods, in making soap, and as a raw material in fatty-acid production.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Coconut Oil
a fatty vegetable oil obtained from copra, the dried flesh of the fruit of the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera). It is one of the “hard” oils. Density, 0.925 g/cm3; coagulation temperature, 19°–23°C. Its composition is as follows (in percent): stearic acid, 1.0–3.0; palmitic acid, 7.5–10.5; myristic acid, 13–19; lauric acid, 44–52; caproic acid, 0.2–2.0; caprylic acid, 6.0–9.7; capric acid, 4.5–10.0; oleic acid, 5–8; linoleic acid, 1.5–2.8; hexadecenic acid, up to 1.3. Kinematic viscosity at 50°C, (251–264) × 10-6 m2/sec; iodine number, 7–10.5. Coconut oil has great industrial value and is used mainly in the manufacture of soap and cosmetics, as well as in the food industry (in the production of margarine).
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.