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US /ˈvaɪ.tə.mɪn/ UK /ˈvɪt.ə.mɪn/
Freq #11140

Meanings

  1. 1

Thesaurus

Forms vitamins
Derived forms vitamervitaminicvitaminizevitaminosis

Common collocations

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. 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 natural substances of undefined composition. Drummo…

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