n.
Pronunciation: ' ker- ə - ˌ t ē n, ' ka-r ə -
Function: noun
Etymology: International Scientific Vocabulary, from Late Latin carota carrot
Date: 1861
: any of several orange or red crystalline hydrocarbon pigments (as C 40 H 56 ) that occur in the chromoplasts of plants and in the fatty tissues of plant-eating animals and are convertible to vitamin A ― compare BETA-CAROTENE