spectrin

[ spek-trin ]

nounBiochemistry.

a rodlike structural protein of the red blood cell membrane.

Origin of spectrin

First recorded in 1968; spect(e)r + -in²;cf. ghost (def. 12)

Words Nearby spectrin

spectral luminous efficiency
spectral series
spectral type
spectra yellow
spectre
spectrin
spectro-
spectrobolometer
spectrochemical
spectrochemistry
spectrocolorimetry

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

British Dictionary definitions for spectrin

spectrin

/ (ˈspɛktrɪn) /

noun

any one of a class of fibrous proteins found in the membranes of red blood cells, the brain, the intestine, etc

Origin of spectrin

C20: from spectr (e) + -in, referring to the ghosts (isolated cell membranes) of red blood cells, the source of the first known member of the class

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

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