virginiamycin

[ ver-jin-yuh-mahy-sin ]

noun

, Pharmacology.

1. any of various antibacterial substances derived from the bacterium Streptomyces virginiae, used in antibiotics and in animal feed as a growth stimulant.

Word History and Origins

Origin of virginiamycin¹

First recorded in 1960–65; from virginia(e), the specific epithet of the bacterium + -mycin ( def )