Lipophilicity (from
Greek λίπος "fat" and "friendly"), refers to the ability of a
chemical compound to dissolve in
fats,
oils,
lipids, and
non-polar solvents such as
hexane or
toluene. These non-polar solvents are themselves lipophilic (translated as "fat-loving" or "fat-liking")—the axiom that
like dissolves like generally holds true. Thus lipophilic substances tend to dissolve in other lipophilic substances, while
hydrophilic (
water-loving) substances tend to dissolve in water and other hydrophilic substances.