I. ˈprōˌtēn also -ōd.ēə̇n or -ōtēə̇n noun
( -s )
Etymology: French protéine, from Late Greek prōteios primary (from Greek prōtos first) + French -ine — more at prot-
1. archaic : an alkali metaprotein supposed to be the basis of all albuminous substances
2. : any of a very large class of naturally occurring extremely complex combinations of amino acids containing the elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, usually sulfur, occasionally phosphorus, iron, or other elements that are essential constituents of all living cells both animal and vegetable and also of the diet of the animal organism, that are both acidic and basic and usually colloidal in nature although many have been crystallized, that are hydrolyzable by acids, alkalies, proteolytic enzymes, and putrefactive bacteria to polypeptides, to simpler peptides, and ultimately to alpha-amino acids, that have been classified by biological functions, by chemical composition as simple or conjugated, by solubility in water and salt solutions, or by the shape of the molecule as fibrous or fibrillar (as those forming structural elements of animal tissue) or as corpuscular or globular (as those involved in metabolism) — compare conjugated protein , denature 2, enzyme , scleroprotein , simple protein
3. : the total nitrogenous material in vegetable or animal substances ; especially : crude protein
II. adjective
: of or containing protein