distillation

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The evaporation and subsequent collection of a liquid by condensation as a means of purification.
• noun The extraction of the volatile components of a mixture by the condensation and collection of the vapors that are produced as the mixture is heated.
• noun A distillate.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun The act of distilling, or of falling in drops; a producing or shedding in drops.
• noun The volatilization and subsequent condensation of a liquid by means of an alembic, a still and refrigeratory, or a retort and receiver; the operation of obtaining the spirit, essence, or essential oil of a substance by the evaporation and condensation of the liquid in which it has been macerated; rectification; in the widest sense, the whole process of extracting the essential principle of a substance.
• noun The substance extracted by distilling.
• noun That which falls in drops, as in nasal catarrh.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun The act of falling in drops, or the act of pouring out in drops.
• noun rare That which falls in drops.
• noun (Chem.) The separation of the volatile parts of a substance from the more fixed; specifically, the operation of driving off gas or vapor from volatile liquids or solids, by heat in a retort or still, and the condensation of the products as far as possible by a cool receiver, alembic, or condenser; rectification; vaporization; condensation.
• noun The substance extracted by distilling.
• noun (Chem.) the distillation, especially of complex solid substances, so that the ultimate constituents are separated or evolved in new compounds, -- usually requiring a high degree of heat.
• noun the distillation of substances by themselves, or without the addition of water or of other volatile solvent.
• noun (Chem.) See under Fractional.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun The act of falling in drops, or the act of pouring out in drops.
• noun That which falls in drops.
• noun chemistry The separation of the volatile parts of a substance from the more fixed; specifically, the operation of driving off gas or vapor from volatile liquids or solids, by heat in a retort or still, and the condensation of the products as far as possible by a cool receiver, alembic, or condenser; rectification; vaporization; condensation; as, the distillation of illuminating gas and coal, of alcohol from sour mash, or of boric acid in steam.
• noun The substance extracted by distilling.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun the process of purifying a liquid by boiling it and condensing its vapors
• noun a purified liquid produced by condensation from a vapor during distilling; the product of distilling