nicotine
[nik-uh-teen, -tin, nik-uh-teen]
- a colorless, oily, water-soluble, highly toxic, liquid alkaloid, C10H14N2, found in tobacco and valued as an insecticide.
Origin of nicotine
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for nicotine
Contemporary Examples
Ground glass is put in food to cause internal bleeding, and nicotine concentrated by boiling can cause a heart attack.
A man named Herbert Gilbert patented one back in 1963 that heated a nicotine solution and produced steam.
Even after recovering from the initial sickness, patients can be left in nicotine withdrawal that lasts for days.
CDC Study Finds Huge Increase of E-Cigarette Poisonings, Especially Among Children Under 5Abby Haglage
April 3, 2014
E-cigarette users, who call themselves “vapers,” see them as a relatively harmless way to get a nicotine fix.
Then there is the nicotine: a stimulant that for the addict also has the added effect of calming the nerves.
Historical Examples
Nicotine stain on right forefinger, extending to middle of second phalanx.
A Book of BurlesquesH. L. Mencken
The amount of nicotine does not appear to depend on the amount of curing.
His teeth are yellow with nicotine, and his lips cracked and stained with tobacco.
The Root of EvilThomas Dixon
His fingers were stained with nicotine, and his teeth yellow from it.
The Root of EvilThomas Dixon
Though I had made application of the nicotine, I had but little faith in it.
The QuadroonMayne Reid
nicotine
- a colourless oily acrid toxic liquid that turns yellowish-brown in air and light: the principal alkaloid in tobacco, used as an agricultural insecticide. Formula: C 10 H 14 N 2
Word Origin
C19: from French, from New Latin herba nicotiana Nicot's plant, named after J. Nicot (1530–1600), French diplomat who introduced tobacco into France
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for nicotine
n.
poisonous alkaloid found in tobacco leaves, 1819, from French nicotine, earlier nicotiane, from Modern Latin Nicotiana, formal botanical name for the tobacco plant, named for Jean Nicot (c.1530-1600), French ambassador to Portugal, who sent tobacco seeds and powdered leaves back to France 1561. His name is a diminutive of Nicolas.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
nicotine
(nĭk′ə-tēn′)
- A colorless, poisonous alkaloid derived from the tobacco plant and used as an insecticide. It is the substance in tobacco to which smokers can become addicted.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
nicotine
[nĭk′ə-tēn′]
- A colorless, poisonous compound occurring naturally in the tobacco plant. It is used in medicine and as an insecticide, and it is the substance in tobacco products to which smokers can become addicted. Nicotine is an alkaloid. Chemical formula: C10H14N2.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
nicotine
[(nik-uh-teen)]
A poisonous chemical substance found in the tobacco plant.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.