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pepsin definition

pep·sin (pepsin)

noun

  1. a digestive enzyme in the gastric juice of stomach secretions that catalyzes the splitting of proteins into smaller, more absorptive peptides
  2. an extract of pepsin from the stomachs of calves, pigs, etc., formerly used as a digestive aid

Etymology: Ger: coined (1836) by T. Schwann (1810-82), Ger physiologist < Gr pepsis, digestion < peptein, earlier pessein, to cook, digest < IE base *pekw- > L coquere, cook

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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