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xylan

[zahy-lan]
noun Chemistry.
  1. the pentosan occurring in woody tissue that hydrolyzes to xylose: used as a source of furfural.
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Origin of xylan

1890–95; < Greek xýl(on) wood + -an, variant of -ane
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for xylan

Historical Examples

  • The pentosans, araban and xylan, occur normally in the stems and outer seed coats of many common plants.

    The Chemistry of Plant Life

    Roscoe Wilfred Thatcher

British Dictionary definitions for xylan

xylan

noun
  1. biochem a yellow polysaccharide consisting of xylose units: occurs in straw husks and other woody tissue
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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