-ˈsīənə̇n noun
also an·tho·cy·an -ˈsīən
( -s )
Etymology: anthocyanin from anthocyan + -in; anthocyan from anth- (I) + Greek kyanos dark blue
: any of a class of soluble glycoside pigments that are responsible for most of the blue to red colors in leaves, flowers, and other plant parts and differ from the plastid pigments in usually being dissolved throughout the cell sap, that are reddish in an acid medium and violet or blue in an alkaline medium, and that yield anthocyanidins and sugars on hydrolysis