-ˌnēn, -_nə̇n noun
( -s )
Etymology: International Scientific Vocabulary argin- (perhaps from Greek arginoeis bright, white) + -ine; originally formed as German arginin
: a crystalline basic amino acid C 5 H 13 N 4 COOH that is essential in the nutrition of rats, is derived from guanidine, is obtained especially from certain vegetable tissues and from the decomposition of protamines and proteins, and is also made synthetically — see ornithine