A grayish or brownish waxy substance formed when fats in dead bodies slowly decompose in damp, airless conditions.
From Latin adipis (fat) + cera (wax), coined in the early 1800s by French scientists studying cadaver preservation. The term literally means 'grave wax' and describes a natural mummification process.
Adipocere formation is so distinctive that forensic scientists can use it to estimate how long a body has been buried and what environmental conditions it experienced—it's like nature's time stamp written in wax.
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