ptomaine Hear it!

ptomaine definition

pto·maine (tō′mān′)

noun

any of a class of alkaloid substances, some of which are poisonous, formed in decaying animal or vegetable matter by bacterial action on proteins

Etymology: It ptomaina < Gr ptōma, corpse < piptein, to fall: see feather

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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