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melanin

[ mel-uh-nin ]

noun

  1. any of a class of insoluble pigments, found in all forms of animal life, that account for the dark color of skin, hair, fur, scales, feathers, etc.


melanin

/ ˈmɛlənɪn /

noun

  1. any of a group of black or dark brown pigments present in the hair, skin, and eyes of man and animals: produced in excess in certain skin diseases and in melanomas


melanin

/ mĕlə-nĭn /

  1. Any of various pigments that are responsible for the dark color of the skin, hair, scales, feathers, and eyes of animals and are also found in plants, fungi, and bacteria. Melanins are polymers, often bound to proteins, and in the animal kingdom are built from compounds produced by the oxidation of the amino acid tyrosine.


melanin

  1. A dark brown coloring found in the body, especially in the skin and hair. Produced by special skin cells that are sensitive to sunlight, melanin protects the body by absorbing ultraviolet radiation from the sun .


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Notes

The amount of melanin present in the skin determines the color of a person's complexion: people with a large amount have dark skin, whereas those with very little have fair skin. Melanin is also responsible for tanning.

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Other Words From

  • mela·nin·like adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of melanin1

First recorded in 1835–45; melan- + -in 2

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Example Sentences

Yes, melanin is amazing, but it is not enough to prevent damage.

You deserve to see someone who cares for your individual needs, which may be different if you have a little, or a lot of melanin in your skin.

While darker skin contains more melanin than lighter skin to help protect from sun damage, enough sun exposure can still cause skin damage and skin cancer.

He used a database to see if genes for melanin — DNA instructions for making proteins — changed in response to his drug.

By using the drug to change how much melanin skin cells produce, Michael hopes to help people who suffer scarring from injuries or acne.

Attitudes within the party were essentially unchanged; they just put new faces on an old, melanin-deprived product.

But the world wants to define me by my mammary glands and melanin.

Incidentally, these hormones also produce more melanin pigments when the skin is exposed to the sun.

If anybody without enough melanin says it, it's a horrible thing; but when black people say it, it's affectionate.

If anybody without enough melanin says it, it's a horrible thing.

As the parasite feeds and grows there is deposited within its body a blackish or brownish pigment known as melanin.

On closer examinations he found that each of these nodules contained a few granules of the coal-black melanin of malarial fever.

The colour varies from brown to black, according to the amount of melanin pigment present.

These are generally called melanin granules, but are much better referred to as hmozoin, as they are not related to melanin.

The black pigment of the cells of melanotic tumors, also called melanin, is not to be directly traced to the hmoglobin.

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