zein
Americannoun
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Biochemistry. a soft, yellow powder of simple proteins obtained from corn, used chiefly in the manufacture of textile fibers, plastics, and paper coatings.
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a synthetic fiber produced from this protein.
noun
Etymology
Origin of zein
1815–25; < New Latin Ze ( a ) the maize genus ( Latin: emmer < Greek zeiá barley, wheat; cognate with Sanskrit yáva grain) + -in 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But Chem ist C. G. Harford, of the Arthur D. Little laboratory in Cambridge, Mass., found that a resin named zein, derived from corn, behaved very much like shellac.
From Time Magazine Archive
By an un disclosed chemical process, Harford finally succeeded in converting zein into a non-jelling resin.
From Time Magazine Archive
The director of the Corn Industries Research Foundation, Chemist Harry Everett Barnard, urged chemists to invent uses for zein, a protein left over as a by-product from the corn-refining industry.
From Time Magazine Archive
A drawback, however, was that in solution zein had a tendency to jell.
From Time Magazine Archive
Examples of these proteins may be seen in the gliadin of wheat, zein of corn, and hordein of barley.
From Dietetics for Nurses by Proudfit, Fairfax T.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
