Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

beta-lactam

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.04 in modern English

Syllables: be-ta-lac-tam
IPA

16

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

4

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A lactam having a four-membered ring structure; a structural element of many antibiotics such as penicillin.

Etymology

Etymology tree English beta Latin lacder. English lacto- German Ketonbor. English ketone English -one English lac(tone) Egyptian jmnbor. Ancient Greek Ᾰ̓́μμων (Ắmmōn)bor. Latin Ammōn Latin ammoniacusder. English ammonia Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der. Proto-Italic *-iðos Latin -idusder. English -ide English am(ide) English lactam English beta-lactam From beta + lactam, where beta refers to the position of the carbon atom to which the nitrogen is attached.

Inflected Forms

beta-lactams (plural) β-lactam (alternative) betalactam (alternative)

Derived Forms

monobactam

Phrases

beta-lactamase beta-lactamic alpha-lactam

Frequently Paired Words

alpha-lactam penam

Questions

What does beta-lactam mean?: A lactam having a four-membered ring structure; a structural element of many antibiotics such as penicillin.
Where does beta-lactam come from?: Etymology tree English beta Latin lacder. English lacto- German Ketonbor. English ketone English -one English lac(tone) Egyptian jmnbor. Ancient Greek Ᾰ̓́μμων (Ắmmōn)bor. Latin Ammōn Latin ammoniacusder. English ammonia Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der. Proto-Italic *-iðos Latin -idusder. English -ide English am(ide) English lactam English beta-lactam From beta + lactam, where beta refers to the position of the carbon atom to which the nitrogen is attached.

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