Webster's English Dictionary

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aliphatic

al.i.phat.ic \.al-*-'fat-ik\ aj [ISV, fr. Gk aleiphat-, aleiphar oil, fr. 
   aleiphein to smear;] akin to Gk lipos fat - more at LEAVE : of, relating 
   to, or derived from fat; specif : belonging to a g roup of organic 
   compounds having an open-chain structure and consisting of the paraffin, 
   olefin, and acetylene hydrocarbons and their derivatives