pyrene

[pahy-reen, pahy-reen]

noun Botany.

a putamen or stone, especially when there are several in a single fruit; a nutlet.

Origin of pyrene

1830–40; < New Latin pȳrēna < Greek pȳrḗn fruit stone

pyrene

[pahy-reen]

noun Chemistry.

a polycyclic, aromatic crystalline hydrocarbon, C16H10, consisting of four fused benzene rings, found in coal tar and believed to be carcinogenic.

Origin of pyrene

First recorded in 1880–85; pyr- + -ene

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for pyrene

Historical Examples of pyrene

Pyrene, a fountain in Corinth, consecrated also to the Muses.
Dryden's Works (13 of 18): Translations; Pastorals
John Dryden
Pyrene, Pyrena, a seed-like nutlet or stone of a small drupe.
The Elements of Botany
Asa Gray
Have Pyrene convenient—but not too convenient to spoil the fun.
Perfect Behavior
Donald Ogden Stewart
Farther on the hero came upon another monster in his way—Cycnus, the son of Mars and Pyrene.
Myths and Legends of All Nations
Various
Pyrene, a crystalline substance obtained from coal tar, fats, &c.
The Nuttall Encyclopaedia
Edited by Rev. James Wood

British Dictionary definitions for pyrene

pyrene

noun

a solid polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon extracted from coal tar. Formula: C 16 H 10

Word Origin for pyrene

C19: from pyro- + -ene

pyrene

noun

botany any of several small hard stones that occur in a single fruit and contain a single seed each

Word Origin for pyrene

C19: from New Latin pyrena, from Greek purēn

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