zein

American  

[zee-in] / ˈzi ɪn /

noun

1. Biochemistry. a soft, yellow powder of simple proteins obtained from corn, used chiefly in the manufacture of textile fibers, plastics, and paper coatings.

2. a synthetic fiber produced from this protein.

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zein British  

/ ˈziːɪn /

noun

1. a protein of the prolamine group occurring in maize and used in the manufacture of plastics, paper coatings, adhesives, etc

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Etymology

Origin of zein

1815–25; < New Latin Ze ( a ) the maize genus ( Latin: emmer < Greek zeiá barley, wheat; cognate with Sanskrit yáva grain) + -in ²

Example Sentences

By an un disclosed chemical process, Harford finally succeeded in converting zein into a non-jelling resin.

From Time Magazine Archive

A drawback, however, was that in solution zein had a tendency to jell.

From Time Magazine Archive

The director of the Corn Industries Research Foundation, Chemist Harry Everett Barnard, urged chemists to invent uses for zein, a protein left over as a by-product from the corn-refining industry.

From Time Magazine Archive

But Chem ist C. G. Harford, of the Arthur D. Little laboratory in Cambridge, Mass., found that a resin named zein, derived from corn, behaved very much like shellac.

From Time Magazine Archive

The protein of corn, zein, for example, was shown to be incapable of supporting life.

From Northern Nut Growers Association, report of the proceedings at the eighth annual meeting Stamford, Connecticut, September 5 and 6, 1917 by Northern Nut Growers Association