Calvin

[ kal-vin ]

noun
  1. John Jean Chauvin or Caulvin, 1509–64, French theologian and reformer in Switzerland: leader in the Protestant Reformation.

  2. Melvin, 1911–97, U.S. chemist: Nobel Prize 1961.

  1. a male given name: from a Latin word meaning “bald.”

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How to use Calvin in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for Calvin

Calvin

/ (ˈkælvɪn) /


noun
  1. John, original name Jean Cauvin, Caulvin, or Chauvin. 1509–64, French theologian: a leader of the Protestant Reformation in France and Switzerland, establishing the first presbyterian government in Geneva. His theological system is described in his Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536)

  2. Melvin. 1911–97, US chemist, noted particularly for his research on photosynthesis: Nobel prize for chemistry 1961

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

Scientific definitions for Calvin

Calvin

[ kălvĭn ]


  1. American chemist who won a Nobel Prize in 1961 for determining the chemical reactions that occur during photosynthesis. This series of reactions is now known as the Calvin cycle.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.