theophylline Hear it!

theophylline definition

theo·phyl·line (t̸hē′ə fil′ēn′, -in)

noun

a colorless, crystalline alkaloid, CHNO·HO, extracted from tea leaves or prepared synthetically: an isomer of theobromine

Etymology: < ModL thea, tea (infl. by Gr, goddess, as being a divine herb, but < source of tea) + -phyll + -ine

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

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.