sarcosine

[ sahr-kuh-seen, -sin ]

noun

, Chemistry.

1. a crystalline compound, C 3 H 7 NO 2 , with a sweet taste, soluble in water, slightly soluble in alcohol: used in the manufacture of toothpaste, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.

Word History and Origins

Origin of sarcosine¹

< German Sarkosin (1847), apparently irregular derivative from Greek sárx, stem sark- flesh, and German -in -ine ²