Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of the substances present in the nucleus of a cell, consisting chiefly of proteins, phosphoric acids, and nucleic acids.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The phosphorized nitrogenous constituent of cell-nuclei.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Physiol. Chem.) A constituent of the nuclei of all cells, containing protein and nucleic acid. It is a colorless amorphous substance, readily soluble in alkaline fluids and especially characterized by its comparatively large content of phosphorus. It also contains nitrogen and sulphur.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From German Nuclein, corresponding to nucleus +‎ -in.

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