Definition of "adipocere" [ad•i•po•cere]

• A brown, fatty, waxlike substance that forms on dead animal tissues in response to moisture. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Much more rarely, the fetus is converted into a yellowish, greasy mass to which the term adipocere is applied."
• "This greasy, sometimes waxy substance is known as adipocere, or grave wax."
• "Corpses of infants and overweight persons are particularly prone to adipocere transformation."