enzyme

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See also: Enzyme and enzymé

English[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Commons
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Etymology[edit]

From German Enzym, coined 1878 by the German physiologist Wilhelm Kühne from Ancient Greek ἐν (en, “in”) +‎ ζύμη (zúmē, “sourdough”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

enzyme (countable and uncountable, plural enzymes)

  2. (biochemistry) A biomolecule that catalyses a biological chemical reaction: either a globular protein with this function or an RNA molecule with this function.
    Hypernym: biocatalyst
    Hyponym: ribozyme
    2. (strictly) The protein type specifically.
      Hypernym: biocatalyst
      Coordinate term: ribozyme
  3. (Christianity) Leavened bread, as opposed to azyme.

Usage notes[edit]

Before 1980, protein enzymes were the only known type, so the word enzyme invariably meant that type. Since RNA catalysis was discovered, ribozymes are often viewed as a type of enzyme (in the newer and broader sense of the word), but even today, their name is often used coordinately with the stricter sense.

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Further reading[edit]

French[edit]

French Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia fr

Etymology[edit]

From Ancient Greek ἐν (en, “in”) +‎ ζύμη (zúmē, “sourdough”).

Noun[edit]

enzyme m or f (plural enzymes)

  1. (biochemistry) enzyme

Verb[edit]

enzyme

  1. inflection of enzymer:
    1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
    2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading[edit]

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