Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

vitamin

/ˈvaɪ.tə.mɪn/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.01 in modern English

Syllables
vi-ta-min
IPA
/ˈvaɪ.tə.mɪn/
12
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any of a specific group of organic compounds essential in small quantities for healthy human growth, metabolism, development, and body function. They are found in minute amounts in plant and animal foods or sometimes produced synthetically, and deficiencies of specific vitamins produce specific disorders.

noun

preceding a word or its initial letter, to imply that the referent benefits health or wellness

Informal

verb

To fortify with vitamins.

Dated; Transitive verb

Example Sentences

Etymology

First use appears c. 1920, originally vitamine (1912), from Latin vīta (“life”) (see vital) + amine (see amino acids). Vitamine coined by Polish biochemist Casimir Funk after the initial discovery of aberic acid (thiamine), when it was thought that all such nutrients would be amines. The term had become ubiquitous by the time it was discovered that vitamin C, among others, had no amine component. In 1920, British biochemist Jack Drummond proposed that the final -e be dropped to deemphasize the amine reference. The ending -in was acceptable because it was used for natural substances of undefined composition. Drummond also introduced the lettering system of nomenclature (Vitamin A, B, C, etc.) at this same time.

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈvaɪ.tə.mɪn/
  • British English: /ˈvɪt.ə.mɪn/

Usage

Inflected Forms

vitamins (plural) vitamine (alternative, obsolete) vitamins (present, singular) vitamining (participle, present) vitamined (participle, past) vitamined (past)

Derived Forms

antivitamin cobalamin dihydroxyvitamin hydroxyvitamin lipovitamin megavitamin megavitamins niacin nonvitamin oleovitamin previtamin pseudovitamin

Phrases

B vitamin sunshine vitamin vitamin A acid vitamin A vitamin B complex vitamin Bc vitamin B1 vitamin B2

Frequently Paired Words

vitamer :Category:Vitamins

Synonyms

vitamin

Questions

How do you pronounce vitamin?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈvaɪ.tə.mɪn/.
What does vitamin mean?
Any of a specific group of organic compounds essential in small quantities for healthy human growth, metabolism, development, and body function. They are found in minute amounts in plant and animal foods or sometimes produced synthetically, and deficiencies of specific vitamins produce specific disorders.
Where does vitamin come from?
First use appears c. 1920, originally vitamine (1912), from Latin vīta (“life”) (see vital) + amine (see amino acids). Vitamine coined by Polish biochemist Casimir Funk after the initial discovery of aberic acid (thiamine), when it was thought that all such nutrients would be amines. The term had become ubiquitous by the time it was discovered that vitamin C, among others, had no amine component. In 1920, British biochemist Jack Drummond proposed that the final -e be dropped to deemphasize the amine reference. The ending -in was acceptable because it was used for natural substances of undefined composition. Drummond also introduced the lettering system of nomenclature (Vitamin A, B, C, etc.) at this same time.

How to pronounce vitamin

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “vitamin”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈvaɪ.tə.mɪn/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “vitamin”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “vitamin” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.