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Definition of ptomaine - 5 dictionary results

pto⋅maine

  [toh-meyn, toh-meyn]
Use ptomaine in a Sentence
–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.
Origin:
1875–80; < It ptomaina < Gk ptôma corpse + It -ina -ine 2

Related forms:
pto⋅main⋅ic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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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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Word Origin & History

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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Medical Dictionary

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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Medical Dictionary

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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