ptomaine

ptomaine
noun Etymology: Italian ptomaina, from Greek ptōma fall, fallen body, corpse, from piptein to fall — more at feather Date: 1880 any of various organic bases which are formed by the action of putrefactive bacteria on nitrogenous matter and some of which are poisonous

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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  • ptomaïne — [ ptɔmain ] n. f. • 1879; it. ptomaina (1875); du gr. ptôma « cadavre » ♦ Biochim. Substance aminée toxique se formant au cours de la putréfaction des protéines animales sous l effet de bactéries. Conserves avariées contenant des ptomaïnes. ●… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Ptomaine — (Leichenalkaloide), eine Reihe von organischen Basen, die sich bei der Fäulnis der Eiweißstoffe infolge der Wirkung besonderer Bakterien bilden und daher in verwesenden Leichenteilen angetroffen werden. Sie sind zum Teil äußerst giftig, zum Teil… …   Lexikon der gesamten Technik

  • 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… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Ptomaïne — Ptomaïne, s. Leichenalkaloide …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Ptomaine — Ptomaīne, s. Leichenalkaloide …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Ptomaine —   [zu griechisch ptõma »Fall«, »Sturz«; »Leichnam«], Singular Ptomain das, s, die Leichengifte.   …   Universal-Lexikon

  • ptomaine — 1880, from It. ptomaina, coined by Prof. Francesco Selmi of Bologna, 1878, from Gk. ptoma corpse, lit. a falling, fallen thing, from piptein to fall (see SYMPTOM (Cf. symptom)). Notion is of poison produced in decaying matter. Incorrectly formed; …   Etymology dictionary

  • ptomaine — denoting a kind of compound formerly associated with food poisoning, is pronounced toh mayn, with the initial p silent …   Modern English usage

  • ptomaine — [tō′mān΄] n. [It ptomaina < Gr ptōma, corpse < piptein, to fall: see FEATHER] any of a class of alkaloid substances, some of which are poisonous, formed in decaying animal or vegetable matter by bacterial action on proteins …   English World dictionary

  • ptomaine — [19] Ptomaine denotes etymologically ‘matter from a corpse’. It comes via French ptomaïne from Italian ptomaina, which was based on Greek ptōma ‘corpse’. This in turn was derived from the verb píptein ‘fall’, and originally meant literally… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • ptomaine — [19] Ptomaine denotes etymologically ‘matter from a corpse’. It comes via French ptomaïne from Italian ptomaina, which was based on Greek ptōma ‘corpse’. This in turn was derived from the verb píptein ‘fall’, and originally meant literally… …   Word origins

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