vitamin
English
Etymology
1920, originally vitamine (1912), from Latin vīta (“life”) (see vital) + amine (see amino acids). Vitamine coined by Polish biochemist Casimir Funk after the initial discovery of aberic acid (thiamine), when it was thought that all such nutrients would be amines.[1] The term had become ubiquitous by the time it was discovered that vitamin C, among others, had no amine component. In 1920, British biochemist Jack Drummond proposed that the final -e be dropped to deemphasize the amine reference. The ending -in was acceptable because it was used for neutral substances of undefined composition. Drummond also introduced the lettering system of nomenclature (Vitamin A, B, C, etc.) at this same time.
Pronunciation
Noun
vitamin (plural vitamins)
- Any of a specific group of organic compounds essential in small quantities for healthy human growth, metabolism, development, and body function; found in minute amounts in plant and animal foods or sometimes produced synthetically; deficiencies of specific vitamins produce specific disorders.
Hyponyms
- See also Thesaurus:vitamin
Translations
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See also
References
- “vitamin” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- “vitamin” in Merriam–Webster Online Dictionary.
- Cambridge Dictionaries Online
Danish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /vitamiːn/, [vitˢaˈmiːˀn]
Declension
neuter gender |
Singular | Plural | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
nominative | vitamin | vitaminet | vitaminer | vitaminerne |
genitive | vitamins | vitaminets | vitaminers | vitaminernes |
Related terms
- A-vitamin, B-vitamin, C-vitamin, D-vitamin, E-vitamin, K-vitamin
- multivitamin
- provitamin
- vitaminholdig
- vitaminisere
Hungarian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈvitɒmin]
- Hyphenation: vi‧ta‧min
Declension
Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony) | ||
---|---|---|
singular | plural | |
nominative | vitamin | vitaminok |
accusative | vitamint | vitaminokat |
dative | vitaminnak | vitaminoknak |
instrumental | vitaminnal | vitaminokkal |
causal-final | vitaminért | vitaminokért |
translative | vitaminná | vitaminokká |
terminative | vitaminig | vitaminokig |
essive-formal | vitaminként | vitaminokként |
essive-modal | — | — |
inessive | vitaminban | vitaminokban |
superessive | vitaminon | vitaminokon |
adessive | vitaminnál | vitaminoknál |
illative | vitaminba | vitaminokba |
sublative | vitaminra | vitaminokra |
allative | vitaminhoz | vitaminokhoz |
elative | vitaminból | vitaminokból |
delative | vitaminról | vitaminokról |
ablative | vitamintól | vitaminoktól |
Possessive forms of vitamin | ||
---|---|---|
possessor | single possession | multiple possessions |
1st person sing. | vitaminom | vitaminjaim |
2nd person sing. | vitaminod | vitaminjaid |
3rd person sing. | vitaminja | vitaminjai |
1st person plural | vitaminunk | vitaminjaink |
2nd person plural | vitaminotok | vitaminjaitok |
3rd person plural | vitaminjuk | vitaminjaik |
Derived terms
- vitaminos
(Compound words):
- A-vitamin
- B-vitamin
- C-vitamin
- D-vitamin
- vitamindús
- vitaminhiány
- vitaminszegény
References
- Tótfalusi, István. Idegenszó-tár: Idegen szavak értelmező és etimológiai szótára (A Storehouse of Foreign Words: an explanatory and etymological dictionary of foreign words’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2005. →ISBN
Norwegian Bokmål
Noun
vitamin n (definite singular vitaminet, indefinite plural vitamin or vitaminer, definite plural vitamina or vitaminene)
- a vitamin
Norwegian Nynorsk
Noun
vitamin n (definite singular vitaminet, indefinite plural vitamin, definite plural vitamina)
- a vitamin
References
- “vitamin” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.