chitin

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See also: Chitin

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Etymology

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From French chitine, from Latin chitōn (mollusk), from Ancient Greek χιτών (khitṓn). See also chiton.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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chitin (countable and uncountable, plural chitins)

  1. (biochemistry) A complex polysaccharide, a polymer of N-acetylglucosamine, found in the exoskeletons of arthropods and in the cell walls of fungi; thought to be responsible for some forms of asthma in humans.
    • 1880, Arthur Gamgee, A Text-book of the Physiological Chemistry of the Animal Body[1], Macmillan, page 299:
      Chitin usually occurs throughout Invertebrates in the form of an investment to the outermost cellular layer or ectoderm.
    • 2004 September 11, New Scientist, page 19:
      The robot’s energy source is the sugar in the polysaccharide called chitin that makes up a fly’s exoskeleton.

Derived terms

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Anagrams

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