Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ornithine

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.92 in modern English

Syllables
or-nithine
IPA
12
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An amino acid, 2,5-diaminopentanoic acid, that is not present in protein, but is an intermediate in the biosynthesis of urea (the urea cycle).

Countable; Uncountable

Etymology

Blend of ornith- + (ur)ine. The name "ornithine" is in reference to its discovery as a benzoate ester in chicken excrement, by Max Jaffe in 1877.

Usage

Inflected Forms

ornithines (plural)

Derived Forms

acetylornithine hyperornithinemia hypoornithinemia polyornithine

Phrases

ornithine carbamoyltransferase ornithine cycle ornithine transcarbamylase ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency

Frequently Paired Words

citrulline aspartate argininosuccinate arginine fumarate urea carbamoyl phosphate

Questions

What does ornithine mean?
An amino acid, 2,5-diaminopentanoic acid, that is not present in protein, but is an intermediate in the biosynthesis of urea (the urea cycle).
Where does ornithine come from?
Blend of ornith- + (ur)ine. The name "ornithine" is in reference to its discovery as a benzoate ester in chicken excrement, by Max Jaffe in 1877.

How to pronounce ornithine

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