Part 59

Fat (?), n. 1. (Physiol. Chem.) An oily liquid or greasy substance making up the main bulk of the adipose tissue of animals, and widely distributed in the seeds of plants. See Adipose tissue, under Adipose.

Animal fats are composed mainly of three distinct fats, tristearin, tripalmitin, and triolein, mixed in varying proportions. As olein is liquid at ordinary temperatures, while the other two fats are solid, it follows that the consistency or hardness of fats depends upon the relative proportion of the three individual fats. During the life of an animal, the fat is mainly in a liquid state in the fat cells, owing to the solubility of the two solid fats in the more liquid olein at the body temperature. Chemically, fats are composed of fatty acid, as stearic, palmitic, oleic, etc., united with glyceryl. In butter fat, olein and palmitin predominate, mixed with another fat characteristic of butter, butyrin. In the vegetable kingdom many other fats or glycerides are to be found, as myristin from nutmegs, a glyceride of lauric acid in the fat of the bay tree, etc.

2. The best or richest productions; the best part; as, to live on the fat of the land.

3. (Typog.) Work. containing much blank, or its equivalent, and, therefore, profitable to the compositor.

Fat acid. (Chem.) See Sebacic acid, under Sebacic. -- Fat series, Fatty series (Chem.), the series of the paraffine hydrocarbons and their derivatives; the marsh gas or methane series. -- Natural fats (Chem.), the group of oily substances of natural occurrence, as butter, lard, tallow, etc., as distinguished from certain fatlike substance of artificial production, as paraffin. Most natural fats are essentially mixtures of triglycerides of fatty acids.

Fat, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fatted (?); p. pr. & vb. n. atting (?).] [OE. fatten, AS. fttian. See Fat, a., and cf. Fatten.] To make fat; to fatten; to make plump and fleshy with abundant food; as, to fat fowls or sheep.

We fat all creatures else to fat us.

Shak.

Fat, v. i. To grow fat, plump, and fleshy.

An old ox fats as well, and is as good, as a young one.

Mortimer.

Fa"tal, a. [L. fatalis, fr. fatum: cf. F. fatal. See Fate.] 1. Proceeding from, or appointed by, fate or destiny; necessary; inevitable. [R.]

These thing are fatal and necessary.

Tillotson.

It was fatal to the king to fight for his money.

Bacon.

2. Foreboding death or great disaster. [R.]

That fatal screech owl to our house That nothing sung but death to us and ours.

Shak.

3. Causing death or destruction; deadly; mortal; destructive; calamitous; as, a fatal wound; a fatal disease; a fatal day; a fatal error.

Fa"tal*ism (?), n. [Cf. F. fatalisme.] The doctrine that all things are subject to fate, or that they take place by inevitable necessity.

Fa"tal*ist (?), n. [Cf. F. fataliste.] One who maintains that all things happen by inevitable necessity.

Fa`tal*is"tic (?), a. Implying, or partaking of the nature of, fatalism.

Fa*tal"i*ty (?), n.;pl. Fatalities (#). [L. fatalitas: cf. F. fatalitÈ] 1. The state of being fatal, or proceeding from destiny; invincible necessity, superior to, and independent of, free and rational control.

The Stoics held a fatality, and a fixed, unalterable course of events.

South.

2. The state of being fatal; tendency to destruction or danger, as if by decree of fate; mortaility.

The year sixty-three is conceived to carry with it the most considerable fatality.