albino

[ al-bahy-noh or, especially British, -bee- ]

noun,plural al·bi·nos.
  1. a person with pale skin, light hair, pinkish eyes, and visual abnormalities resulting from a hereditary inability to produce the pigment melanin.

  2. an animal or plant with a marked deficiency in pigmentation.

  1. Philately. an embossed stamp accidentally left without ink.

Origin of albino

1
1770–80; <Portuguese, equivalent to alb(o) white (<Latin albus) + -ino-ine1

Other words from albino

  • al·bin·ic [al-bin-ik], /ælˈbɪn ɪk/, al·bi·nal [al-buh-nl], /ˈæl bə nl/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for albino

albino

/ (ælˈbiːnəʊ) /


nounplural -nos
  1. a person with congenital absence of pigmentation in the skin, eyes, and hair

  2. any animal or plant that is deficient in pigment

Origin of albino

1
C18: via Portuguese from Spanish, from albo white, from Latin albus

Derived forms of albino

  • albinic (ælˈbɪnɪk) or albinistic, adjective
  • albinism (ˈælbɪˌnɪzəm), noun
  • albinotic (ˌælbɪˈnɒtɪk), adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for albino

albino

[ ăl-bī ]


  1. An organism lacking normal pigmentation or coloration. Animals that are albinos lack pigmentation due to a congenital absence of melanin. In humans and other mammals, albinos have white hair, pale skin, and usually pinkish eyes. Plants that are albinos lack normal amounts of chlorophyll or other pigments.

Other words from albino

  • albinism noun (ălbə-nĭz′əm)

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.