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Webster 1913 Edition


Betaine

Be′ta-ine

,
Noun.
[From
beta
, generic name of the beet.]
(Chem.)
A nitrogenous base,
C5H11NO2
, produced artificially, and also occurring naturally in beet-root molasses and its residues, from which it is extracted as a white crystalline substance; – called also
lycine
and
oxyneurine
. It has a sweetish taste.

Definition 2024


Betaine

Betaine

See also: betaine and bétaïne

German

Noun

Betaine n

  1. plural of Betain

betaine

betaine

See also: Betaine and bétaïne

English

Trimethylglycine, the first discovered betaine.

Noun

betaine (countable and uncountable, plural betaines)

  1. (uncountable, organic chemistry) A sweet, crystalline compound (not an alkaloid), trimethylammoniumacetate, found in sugar beet and similar plants, sometimes used to treat muscular degeneracy; the zwitterion (CH3)3N+CH2COO-
  2. (countable, organic chemistry) Any derivative of this compound.
  3. (countable, organic chemistry, by extension) Any similar compound, based on sulfur or phosphorus etc, having an onium ion with no hydrogen atom adjacent to the anionic atom.

Derived terms