I. ˈhīələ̇n, -əˌlīn adjective
Etymology: Late Latin hyalinus, from Greek hyalinos, from hyalos transparent stone, glass + -inos -ine
1. : of, resembling, or consisting of glass
a glimpse of bay below, a rock-set hyaline circlet — Sybille Bedford
2.
a. biology : transparent or nearly so
a hyaline membrane
b. mineralogy
(1) : glassy
(2) : lacking crystallinity : amorphous
II. “, in sense 2 -əˌlēn or -ələ̇n noun
( -s )
1. : something transparent (as the smooth sea or the clear atmosphere)
the morning is as clear as diamond or as hyaline — Sacheverell Sitwell
2. or hy·a·lin -ələ̇n
[probably International Scientific Vocabulary hyal- + -ine or in ]
a. : a nitrogenous substance closely related to chitin that forms the main constituent of the walls of hydatid cysts and yields a sugar on decomposition
b. : any of several similar translucent substances collecting around cells, capable of being stained by eosin, and yielding a carbohydrate as a cleavage product