hyaline

American  

[hahy-uh-leen, -lin, hahy-uh-lin, -lahyn] / ˈhaɪ əˌlin, -lɪn, ˈhaɪ ə lɪn, -ˌlaɪn /

noun

1. Biochemistry. Also hyalin

   1. a horny substance found in hydatid cysts, closely resembling chitin.

   2. a structureless, transparent substance found in cartilage, the eye, etc., resulting from the pathological degeneration of tissue.

2. something glassy or transparent.

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adjective

1. of or relating to hyaline.

2. glassy or transparent.

3. of or relating to glass.

4. amorphous; not crystalline.

hyaline British  

/ ˈhaɪəlɪn /

adjective

1. biology clear and translucent, with no fibres or granules

2. archaic transparent

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noun

1. archaic a glassy transparent surface

Other Word Forms

• subhyalin adjective
• subhyaline adjective

Etymology

Origin of hyaline

1655–65; < Late Latin hyalinus < Greek hyálinos of glass. See hyal-, -ine ¹

Example Sentences

Additional tests confirmed that the regenerated tissue was hyaline cartilage rather than the less functional fibrocartilage.

From Science Daily • Jan. 20, 2026

A third population, which did not produce 15-PGDH and instead expressed genes tied to hyaline cartilage formation and maintenance of the extracellular matrix, rose from 22% to 42%.

From Science Daily • Jan. 20, 2026

Long bones lengthen as chondrocytes divide and secrete hyaline cartilage.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

This condition is known as hyaline membrane disease and is a leading cause of death for infants, particularly in premature births.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

Glumes 4, the 2 lower nearly equal, one 4–5-nerved, the other many-nerved; the 2 upper hyaline, one empty, the upper awned from the tip.

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa

Related Words

• glazed
• icy
• shiny
• sleek