esters of glycerol (propane-1,2,3-triol) with fatty acids, widely distributed in nature. They are by long-established custom subdivided into triglycerides, 1,2- or 1,3-diglycerides, and 1- or 2-monoglycerides, according to the number and position of acyl groups (not, as one might suppose, the number of glycerol residues). The recommended method for naming individual glycerides is mono-, di- or tri-O-acylglycerol, as appropriate.