German

Noun

Chitin n

1. (biochemistry) chitin

English

Noun

chitin ‎(countable and uncountable, plural chitins)

1. (biochemistry) A complex polysaccharide, a polymer of N-acetylglucosamine, found in the exoskeletons of arthropods and in the cell walls of fungi; thought to be responsible for some forms of asthma in humans.
   • 1880, Arthur Gamgee, A Text-book of the Physiological Chemistry of the Animal Body, Macmillan, p. 299

     Chitin usually occurs throughout Invertebrates in the form of an investment to the outermost cellular layer or ectoderm.

   • 2004, New Scientist, 11 Sep 2004, p.19

     The robot’s energy source is the sugar in the polysaccharide called chitin that makes up a fly’s exoskeleton.

Derived terms

• chitinous

Translations

References

• chitin in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• “chitin” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary (2001).