ptomaine
UK /ˈtəʊmeɪn/ · US /ˈtoʊmeɪn/ noun
Forms ptomaines ptomain
- noun (chemistry) Any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria.
- noun (dated) Food poisoning.
Synonyms
Etymology
From French ptomaïne, from Italian ptomaina, from Ancient Greek πτῶμα (ptôma, “corpse”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun 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 ptomaines, as a class, have their origin in dead matter, by which they are to be distinguished from the leucomaines.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “ptomaine”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details