erepsin Hear it!

erepsin definition

erep·sin (ē repsin)

noun

an enzyme mixture once thought to be one enzyme, secreted by the small intestine and involved in the breaking down of proteins into their component amino acids

Etymology: Ger < L ereptus, pp. of eripere, to snatch away (< e-, out + rapere, to snatch: see rape) + Ger pepsin, pepsin

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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