/thee"beuh een', thi bay"een, -in/ , n. Chem.
a white, crystalline, slightly water-soluble, poisonous alkaloid, C 19 H 21 NO 3 , present in opium in small quantities, but having a strychninelike rather than a narcotic effect.
[ 1890-95; theba ( ia ) opium of Thebes, Egypt (alter. of L Thebaea, fem. of Thebaeus Theban) + -INE 2 ]