myosin

[mahy-uh-sin]

noun Biochemistry.

the principal contractile protein of muscle.

Origin of myosin

First recorded in 1865–70; my- + -ose² + -in²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for myosin

Historical Examples of myosin

Another similar experiment made with antipeptone, formed from the myosin of muscle-tissue, gave like results.
On Digestive Proteolysis
R. H. Chittenden
The pemmican we used consisted of powdered dried beef (containing the important protein, myosin) and 50 per cent.
The Home of the Blizzard
Douglas Mawson
Other forms of protein are globulin and myosin, which form the actual muscle-substance.
Encyclopedia of Diet
Eugene Christian
Into this special class fall myosin (of the muscles), fibrinogen (of the blood) and vitellin (of egg yolk).
Animal Proteins
Hugh Garner Bennett

British Dictionary definitions for myosin

myosin

noun

the chief protein of muscle that interacts with actin to form actomyosin during muscle contraction; it is also present in many other cell types

Word Origin for myosin

C19: from myo- + -ose ² + -in

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

myosin in Medicine

myosin

[mī′ə-sĭn]

n.

The commonest protein in muscle cells, a globulin responsible for the elastic and contractile properties of muscle and combining with actin to form actomyosin.

myosin in Science

myosin

[mī′ə-sĭn]

A protein found in muscle tissue as a thick filament made up of an aggregate of similar proteins. Myosin and the protein actin form the contractile units (sarcomeres) of skeletal muscle. In the sarcomere, actin and myosin filaments slide past each other to cause the shortening of a muscle fiber.