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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.