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Definition of ptomaine - 7 dictionary results
pto⋅maine
[toh-meyn, toh-meyn] 
meɪn
–noun
| any of a class of foul-smelling nitrogenous substances produced by bacteria during putrefaction of animal or plant protein: formerly thought to be toxic. |
Related forms:
pto⋅main⋅ic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To ptomaine
| pto·maine (tō'mān', tō-mān') n. A basic nitrogenous organic compound produced by bacterial putrefaction of protein. [Italian ptomaina, from Greek ptōma, corpse, from piptein, ptō-, to fall; see pet- in Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Ptomaine
Pto"ma*ine\, n. [From Gr. ? a dead body.] (Physiol. Chem.) One of a class of animal bases or alkaloids formed in the putrefaction of various kinds of albuminous matter, and closely related to the vegetable alkaloids; a cadaveric poison. The ptomaines, as a class, have their origin in dead matter, by which they are to be distinguished from the leucomaines.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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ptomaine
1880, from It. ptomaina, coined by Selmi 1878 from Gk. ptoma "corpse," lit. "a falling, fallen thing," from piptein "to fall," from PIE base *pet- (see petition). Notion is of poison produced in decaying matter. Incorrectly formed; proper Gk. would be *ptomatine.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: pto·maine
Pronunciation: 'tO-"mAn, tO-'
Function: noun
: any of various organic bases formed by the action of putrefactive bacteria onnitrogenous matter and including some which are poisonous —compare LEUKOMAINE
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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ptomaine pto·maine (tō'mān', tō-mān')
n.
A basic nitrogenous organic compound produced by bacterial putrefaction of protein.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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| ptomaine (tō'mān') Pronunciation Key
Any of various toxic nitrogenous organic compounds produced by bacterial decomposition of protein, especially in dead animal tissue. Ptomaines are bases and are formed by removing the carboxyl group (COOH) from amino acids. They do not cause food poisoning, as was previously thought, but the term ptomaine poisoning is still used to describe food poisoning caused by bacteria. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
