Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A tough, insoluble protein substance that is the chief structural constituent of hair, nails, horns, and hooves.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Same as ceratin.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Physiol. Chem.) A sulfur-containing fibrous protein constituting the main structural protein of hard epidermal tissues, such as horn, hair, feathers, nails, claws, hoofs, and the like. It is an insoluble substance, and, unlike elastin, is not dissolved even by gastric or pancreatic juice. By decomposition with sulphuric acid it yields leucine and tyrosine plus various other acid-stable amino acids. The amino acid composition varies, but it usually has a high percentage of cystine, which stabilizes and insolubilizes the protein by forming intrachain linkages. A softer form of keratin is present in the epidermis and whalebone. Called also
epidermose .
WordNet 3.0
- n. a fibrous scleroprotein that occurs in the outer layer of the skin and in horny tissues such as hair, feathers, nails, and hooves
Etymologies
- Greek keras, kerāt-, horn + -in. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“There are a number of hair-straightening salon treatments besides Brazilian Blowout on the market, some of which are called "keratin treatments" and "Brazilian treatments.”
The Wall Street Journal: Calls for FDA to Regulate Hair Straighteners
“Hair is made up mostly of a protein called keratin, which is the same material that makes up hooves, claws and fingernails.”
“The plate of the nail is composed of a substance called keratin, which is produced by amino acids.”
“For example, Justin R. Barone, a research scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Environmental Quality Laboratory in Beltsville, MD, and colleagues have found that chicken-feather keratin is ideal for strengthening composites.”
“This is when the buds of the tongue kick into overproduction of a substance called keratin, which causes the buds to grow longer than normal.”
The Huffington Post: Dr. Harold Katz: Bad Breath and Your Tongue
“First my mother, then my aunt and a half dozen co-workers — all of them singing the praises of keratin, which is an extremely strong protein that makes up most of the composition of our hair and nails.”
“As you can see in Figure 4.1, your nails are composed of laminated layers of a protein called keratin, which as you know by now is also found in your hair and skin.”
“That hair shaft is made up of a protein called keratin.”
“Nails and hair are made of a very different protein called keratin, and gelatin has no advantage over other protein sources in supplying the building blocks for keratin production.”
Simon & Schuster: On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
“Cells that make up the stratum corneum contain keratin, which is a protein that keeps skin hydrated by preventing water from evaporating.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘keratin’.
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G[r]eek
A collection of words found in English that are either purely Greek or have Greek etymology.
Please add with caution and certainty. Will be regularly updated by me.etymology, philosophy, laconic, disharmony, patriarchic, archaic, phlogiston, aether, aeon, angel, arachnid, rhythm and 346 more...
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Rats
rats, rat, tree-rat, pilori-rat, prorate, pro rata, Ratso Rizzo, ratfink, rat pack, Rat Pack, Rats!, rat race and 157 more...
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Polymers
"Any of numerous natural and synthetic compounds of usually high molecular weight consisting of up to millions of repeated linked units, each a relatively light and simple molecule."
-...cellulose, diamond, feldspar, nucleic acids, proteins, quartz, rubber, starch, wool, polyethylene, polypropylene, laminarin and 58 more...
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ecbrenner's list
flatline, luddism, apocalipstick, muttsucker, leviathan of fore..., flint, coryphaeus, donnybrook, bandwidth, bagpipe the mizen, cheesed off, asterism and 525 more...
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Hedgepiglet
Words for things both tangible and nonanthropic
rorqual, vellus, wrasse, rainbow bee-eater, tinkershire, lemonquat, boomslang, tufted vetch, cubeb, nipplefruit, madapple, wad and 447 more...
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kerato-, kerat-, cerato-, cerat-
of or relating to horny tissue or the cornea
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Who Knew?
Words that have meanings I never dreamed
cochineal, avoirdupois, drugget, cincture, bathing machine, chernobyl, skivvy, ploidy, eureka, meromictic, limnic eruption, minced oath and 18 more...
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Shark Parts
squalene, shagreen, denticle, placoid, spiracle, tessera, rostrum, snout, barbel, basihyal, cartilage, clasper and 9 more...
Tweets
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