ptomaine

[toh-meyn, toh-meyn]

noun

any of a class of foul-smelling nitrogenous substances produced by bacteria during putrefaction of animal or plant protein: formerly thought to be toxic.

Origin of ptomaine

1875–80; < Italian ptomaina < Greek ptôma corpse + Italian -ina -ine²

Related formspto·main·ic, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for ptomaine

Historical Examples of ptomaine

The consequences I suffered were those of ptomaine poisoning.
Across America by Motor-cycle
C. K. Shepherd
"He might get ptomaine poisoning," finally suggested Shy Thomas.
The Eternal Boy
Owen Johnson
Still I think he has made a bad exchange, for Mrs. Ptomaine wont last.
The Celebrity at Home
Violet Hunt
If Mills has ptomaine poisoning, nothing has happened, the doctor said.
Boy Scouts in Glacier Park
Walter Prichard Eaton
In her pride of being a Petticoat she loved every detail of Ptomaine Haul.
Ptomaine Street
Carolyn Wells

British Dictionary definitions for ptomaine

ptomaine

ptomain

noun

any of a group of amines, such as cadaverine or putrescine, formed by decaying organic matter

Word Origin for ptomaine

C19: from Italian ptomaina, from Greek ptoma corpse, from piptein to fall

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 ptomaine

1880, from Italian ptomaina, coined by Professor Francesco Selmi of Bologna, 1878, from Greek ptoma "corpse," on notion of poison produced in decaying matter. Greek ptoma is literally "a fall, a falling," via the notion of "fallen thing, fallen body;" nominal derivative of piptein "to fall" (see symptom). Incorrectly formed, and Selmi is roundly scolded for it in OED, which says proper Greek would be *ptomatine.

ptomaine in Medicine

ptomaine

[tō′mān′, tō-mān′]

n.

A basic nitrogenous organic compound produced by bacterial putrefaction of protein.

ptomaine in Science

ptomaine

[tō′mān′]

Any of various toxic nitrogenous organic compounds produced by bacterial decomposition of protein, especially in dead animal tissue. Ptomaines are bases and are formed by removing the carboxyl group (COOH) from amino acids. They do not cause food poisoning, as was previously thought, but the term ptomaine poisoning is still used to describe food poisoning caused by bacteria.