English

Noun

Chemical structure of octopine.

octopine ‎(plural octopines)

1. (chemistry) An analog of lactic acid, derived from the amino acids arginine and alanine, first isolated from the muscle tissue of octopus species.

Synonyms

• D-octopine

Derived terms

• octopine dehydrogenase

See also

• octopamine (confused with)

Etymology 2

octopus + -ine (of or pertaining to)

Adjective

octopine ‎(comparative more octopine, superlative most octopine)

1. Of or pertaining to an octopus or octopuses.
   • 1914, Gilbert Keith Chesterton, The Flying Inn, page 266:

     ...but the Captain preferred to swing himself onto one of the octopine branches with a whirl of large wild legs worthy of a chimpanzee.

Synonyms

• octopean, octopian, octopic, octopuslike, octopusian, octopusal, octopussial, octopoid