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albino

[al-bahy-noh or, esp. British, -bee-]
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noun, plural al·bi·nos.
  1. a person with pale skin, light hair, pinkish eyes, and visual abnormalities resulting from a hereditary inability to produce the pigment melanin.
  2. an animal or plant with a marked deficiency in pigmentation.
  3. Philately. an embossed stamp accidentally left without ink.
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Origin of albino

1770–80; < Portuguese, equivalent to alb(o) white (< Latin albus) + -ino -ine1
Related formsal·bin·ic [al-bin-ik] /ælˈbɪn ɪk/, al·bi·nal [al-buh-nl] /ˈæl bə nl/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

blondpalefairstrawlightchampagnesallowplatinumalbinostrawberrypearlysnowywashed-outfair-hairedtowheadedflaxenstramineous

Examples from the Web for albino

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • He had never seen an albino before, and, indeed, he did not know what one was.

    They Twinkled Like Jewels

    Philip Jos Farmer

  • The albino had just now crept through the country of the Mambava.

    Sacrifice

    Stephen French Whitman

  • Albino: a colorless individual of a species that is normally colored.

  • Well, what of it, even if Lucy were an albino and Perry had scratched her?

    The Winning Clue

    James Hay, Jr.

  • The albino argument was by no means final, could not be made definite.

    The Winning Clue

    James Hay, Jr.

British Dictionary definitions for albino

albino

noun plural -nos
  1. a person with congenital absence of pigmentation in the skin, eyes, and hair
  2. any animal or plant that is deficient in pigment
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Derived Formsalbinic (ælˈbɪnɪk) or albinistic, adjectivealbinism (ˈælbɪˌnɪzəm), nounalbinotic (ˌælbɪˈnɒtɪk), adjective

Word Origin

C18: via Portuguese from Spanish, from albo white, from Latin albus
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 albino

n.

1777, from Spanish or Portuguese albino, from Latin albus "white" (see alb). Used by Portuguese of white-spotted African negroes. Extended 1859 to animals having the same peculiarity. A female albino formerly was an albiness (1808).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
albino in Medicine

albino

(ăl-bī′nō)
n. pl. al•bi•nos
  1. A person or an animal lacking normal pigmentation, resulting in abnormally pale or white skin and hair and pink or blue eyes with a deep-red pupil.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
albino in Science

albino

[ăl-bī′nō]
  1. An organism lacking normal pigmentation or coloration. Animals that are albinos lack pigmentation due to a congenital absence of melanin. In humans and other mammals, albinos have white hair, pale skin, and usually pinkish eyes. Plants that are albinos lack normal amounts of chlorophyll or other pigments.
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Related formsalbinism noun (ăl′bə-nĭz′əm)
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.