Olestra

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A man-made fat created to substitute for natural fats, delivering a lower caloric count and mimicking the properties of conventional fats
2. A synthesized fat designed to replace natural fats, it offers a lower calorie content while replicating the creaminess and texture of traditional fats
3. A synthetic fat alternative developed to imitate the texture and taste of regular fats but with fewer calories

Etymology: Olestra is a coined name, built by its makers from parts of two existing words. Its first element comes from "polyester," the family of synthetic polymers, and the ending "-a" is a common brand-name suffix, so the name reads as a manufactured product rather than a word with ancient roots. The "-a" was tacked on in the way many invented trade names end, and the whole name dates to the 1980s, when the substance was developed. The name tells you what the product is: a fat-like molecule built from the same sort of chemistry as polyesters, but one that the body cannot easily digest. Olestra's history is therefore a product-naming story rather than a story of the word drifting through languages, and the most useful thing to know about the word is that its meaning is tied directly to its chemistry.