vitamer

US /ˈvaɪtəmər/ UK /ˈvʌɪtəmə/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
any of several related compounds that share a single vitamin's activity

Retinol and retinal are vitamers of vitamin A with distinct functions.

Thesaurus

Word family

Related forms vitaminvita

Etymology

A 20th-century coinage blending vitamin (from Latin vita 'life' + amine) with the suffix -mer (as in isomer, from Greek meros 'part'), denoting a chemical form sharing a vitamin's activity.

vita Latin meros Ancient Greek

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Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

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# vitamer

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈvaɪtəmər/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈvʌɪtəmə/

## Meanings
1. any of several related compounds that share a single vitamin's activity

## Examples
- Retinol and retinal are vitamers of vitamin A with distinct functions.

## Related Forms
- vitamin
- vita

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: vita
- Root: meros

## Etymology
A 20th-century coinage blending vitamin (from Latin vita 'life' + amine) with the suffix -mer (as in isomer, from Greek meros 'part'), denoting a chemical form sharing a vitamin's activity.

## AI Etymology
Vitamer is a 20th-century coinage blending vitamin (from Latin vita 'life' + amine) with the suffix -mer (as in isomer, from Greek meros 'part'), denoting a chemical form sharing a vitamin's activity. In current use it is a noun meaning "any of several related compounds that share a single vitamin's activity". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The surface form is compositional: its joined elements remain visible in the modern word. The historical chain includes Latin vita and Ancient Greek meros. Related English forms include vitamin and vita. The word's history is thus visible in its construction: the components remain interpretable even after the whole expression has settled into a conventional English meaning.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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