thionine

American  

[thahy-uh-neen, ‐nin] / ˈθaɪ əˌnin, ‐nɪn /

noun

Biochemistry.

1. a dark-green crystalline powder, C 12 H 10 N 3 S, whose property of turning violet in solution is useful in microscopy as a biological stain.

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thionine British  

/ ˈθaɪənɪn, -ˌnaɪn, ˈθaɪəʊˌniːn /

noun

1. a crystalline derivative of thiazine used as a violet dye to stain microscope specimens

2. any of a class of related dyes

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Etymology

Origin of thionine

First recorded in 1885–90; from Greek theîon “sulfur” ( thio- ( def. ) ) + -ine ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Blue.—Methylene blue, new methylene blue, toluidine blue, thionine blue, indamine blue, Victoria blue, night blue, Nile blue, turquoise blue, marine blue, indoine blue, metamine blue, Capri blue, indazine, metaphenylene blue, paraphenylene blue, toluylene blue, indigene, indol blue, diphene blue, setopaline, setocyanine, setoglaucine, Helvetia blue.

From Project Gutenberg

Methylene blue and purple thionine looked promising.

From Time Magazine Archive

Weigh out Thionine blue 1.0 gramme Carbolic acid 2.5 grammes and dissolve in Distilled water 100.0 c.c.

From Project Gutenberg