n.
Pronunciation: ' v ī -t ə -m ə n, Brit usu ' vi-
Function: noun
Etymology: alteration of vitamine, from Latin vita life + English amine
Date: circa 1912
: any of various organic substances that are essential in minute quantities to the nutrition of most animals and some plants, act especially as coenzymes and precursors of coenzymes in the regulation of metabolic processes but do not provide energy or serve as building units, and are present in natural foodstuffs or sometimes produced within the body