Dictionary Home »
Webster's New World College Dictionary » rifampicin
rifampicin
Variant of rifampin
rifampin
definition
ri·fam·pin (rī fam′pin)
noun
a derivative, CHNO, of an antibiotic prepared from a culture of soil bacteria (Streptomyces mediterranei), used in treating tuberculosis, spinal meningitis, etc. by inhibiting the RNA synthesis of the bacteria
also rifampicin ri·fam′·pi·cin (-pə sin)
Etymology: < rifamycin (< rifa- < ? + -mycin), an antibiotic derived from a fungus
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Share on Facebook
According to wikipedia the beginning "rifa" comes form the researchers who were particularly fond of the French crime story Rififi (about a jewel heist and rival gangs), so they decided to call these compounds "Rifamycins"
Posted by simrensnegh 64 days ago.