oxytocin

See also: Oxytocin

English

Etymology

From oxytocic, from Ancient Greek ὀξύς (oxús, “swift”) +‎ τόκος (tókos, “childbirth”, from τίκτω (tíktō, “I give birth”)).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɑksiˈtoʊsɪn/, /ˈɑksiˌtoʊsɪn/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

oxytocin (countable and uncountable, plural oxytocins)

1. (biochemistry) A hormone that stimulates contractions during labor, and then the production of milk; also plays a role in social bonding.
   • 1994, Simon LeVay, The Sexual Brain, MIT Press, →ISBN, page 67:

     Some women describe episodes of intense pleasure akin to orgasm during nursing. It would be interesting to know whether the release of oxytocin during suckling plays a role in this subjective feeling, as it may do in actual orgasm.

   • 2011, Mark A.R. Kleiman et al., Drugs and Drug Policy, Oxford University Press, →ISBN:

     MDMA, commonly known as Ecstasy, greatly increases feelings of empathy (and perhaps the actual capacity to perceive the emotions of others); one of the mechanisms (oxytocin release) is now becoming understood, […]

   • 2012, Giles Slade, “World without oxytocin”, in Big Disconnect, Prometheus Books, →ISBN:

     When human beings bond—by hugging, kissing, touching, having sex, eating together, giving massages, or even when singing together or speaking reassuring words—oxytocin brings us “in from the cold,” warming us—quite literally—as it redirects blood flow into hands, feet, chests and cheeks.

Coordinate terms

• isotocin
• mesotocin
• nematocin
• oxytocic

Translations

hormone

• Belarusian: аксітацын m (aksitacyn)
• Bulgarian: окситоцин m (oksitocin)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 催產素 / 催产素 (ceoi¹ caan² sou³)

  Mandarin: 催產素 / 催产素 (cuīchǎnsù)

• Danish: oxytocin
• Dutch: oxytocine (nl) f
• Finnish: oksitosiini
• French: ocytocine (fr) f, oxytocine (fr) f
• German: Oxytocin (de) n
• Greek: οξυτοκίνη (el) f (oxytokíni), ωκυτοκίνη (el) f (okytokíni)
• Hebrew: אוקסיטוצין
• Hungarian: oxitocin (hu)
• Italian: ossitocina (it) f
• Japanese: オキシトシン (okishitoshin)
• Kazakh: окситоцин (oksitosin)
• Korean: 옥시토신 (oksitosin)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: oksytocin m

• Polish: oksytocyna (pl) f
• Portuguese: oxitocina, ocitocina
• Russian: окситоцин (ru) m (oksitocin)
• Spanish: occitocina f
• Swedish: oxytocin (sv) n
• Turkish: oksitosin (tr)
• Ukrainian: окситоцин m (oksytocyn)

Further reading

• oxytocin on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• oxytonic

Swedish

Noun

oxytocin n

1. (biochemistry) oxytocin

Inflection

Declension of oxytocin

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	oxytocin	oxytocins
	definite	oxytocinet	oxytocinets
plural	indefinite	oxytociner	oxytociners
	definite	oxytocinerna	oxytocinernas