Wiktionary

enzyme

See also: Enzyme and enzymé

English edit

 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
 
Commons
Wikimedia Commons has related media at:

Etymology edit

From German Enzym, coined 1878 by the German physiologist Wilhelm Kühne from Ancient Greek ἐν (en, “in”) +‎ ζύμη (zúmē, “sourdough”).

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

enzyme (countable and uncountable, plural enzymes)

  2. (biochemistry) A biomolecule that catalyses a biological chemical reaction: either a globular protein with this function or an RNA molecule with this function.
    Hypernym: biocatalyst
    Hyponym: ribozyme
    2. (strictly) The protein type specifically.
      Hypernym: biocatalyst
      Coordinate term: ribozyme
  3. (Christianity) Leavened bread, as opposed to azyme.

Usage notes edit

Before 1980, protein enzymes were the only known type, so the word enzyme invariably meant that type. Since RNA catalysis was discovered, ribozymes are often viewed as a type of enzyme (in the newer and broader sense of the word), but even today, their name is often used coordinately with the stricter sense.

Derived terms edit

Related terms edit

Translations edit

Further reading edit

French edit

 
French Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia fr

Etymology edit

From Ancient Greek ἐν (en, “in”) +‎ ζύμη (zúmē, “sourdough”).

Noun edit

enzyme m or f (plural enzymes)

  1. (biochemistry) enzyme

Verb edit

enzyme

  1. inflection of enzymer:
    1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
    2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading edit

Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=enzyme&oldid=80138801"