epinephrine
/ˌɛp.ɪˈnɛ.fɹɪn/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.71 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A catecholamine hormone and neurotransmitter; as a hormone, secreted by the adrenal gland in response to stress (when it stimulates the autonomic nervous system); as a neurotransmitter, synthesized from norepinephrine. It is also used as a medication.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "At the ER, after deflating me with a cocktail of epinephrine, a steroid and an antihistamine, the doctors scolded me for not coming in more quickly: I could have died of asphyxiation."
- "“Anyone who has experienced or witnessed an anaphylaxis reaction knows it can be very stressful deciding when to inject epinephrine to themselves or a child and often delay,” Dr. Jonathan Spergel, chief of the allergy program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said in a news release from ARS Pharmaceuticals."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épi Proto-Hellenic *epí Ancient Greek ἐπί (epí) Ancient Greek ἐπῐ- (epĭ-) Proto-Indo-European *negʷʰrós Proto-Hellenic *nekʷʰrós Ancient Greek νεφρός (nephrós) Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *-iHnos Proto-Italic *-īnos Latin -īnusder. Old French -inbor. Middle English -in English -ine English epinephrine From Ancient Greek ἐπι- (epi-, “upon”) + νεφρός (nephrós, “kidney”) + -ine.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: ἐπι-