protéine

Forms

protéine f (plural protéines)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned coinage of 1838, from Ancient Greek πρωτεῖος (prōteîos, “holding the first place, of the first quality”), with the chemical suffix -ine.^[2][3][1] The Greek adjective is derived from πρῶτος (prôtos, “first”), which the Petit Robert, the GLLF and Littré give as the direct source of the word.^[3][4][5][6] The GLLF explains the name by the view that proteins were the basis of all living matter.^[5]

The Grand Robert and Rey attribute the word to the Swedish chemist Berzelius, who proposed it in French in a letter to Mulder,^[3][7] while Wiktionary and Etymonline credit the Dutch chemist Gerardus Johannes Mulder, Etymonline adding that he may have taken it from Berzelius's suggestion.^[1][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1838 in the Bulletin des sciences physiques et naturelles en Néerlande, in a passage suggesting that the organic matter which is a general principle of all the constituents of the animal body could be called protéine.^[2][3][7]

Semantic evolution

At first the word named a substance supposed to be the common radical of the nitrogenous organic substances, a hypothesis that was not confirmed, as Littré notes.^[6][8] The modern concept, a large nitrogenous organic molecule that yields amino acids on hydrolysis and is a main constituent of living beings, emerged in the second half of the 19th century.^[3][7]

The word then entered general use, especially in dietetics, with phrases such as protéines végétales and protéines animales.^[3] Biochemistry distinguishes simple proteins (holoprotéines) from conjugated ones (hétéroprotéines).^[3][2][4] English borrowed the French word as protein in 1844.^[8]

Timeline

• 1838 – Protéine appears in the Bulletin des sciences physiques et naturelles en Néerlande.^[2][3]
• 1841 – The adjective protéique is recorded.^[3]
• 1844 – English borrows it as protein.^[8]
• Second half of the 19th century – The modern sense takes shape.^[3][7]
• 1964 – Protéiné “enriched with protein” enters the dictionaries.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (biochemistry) A protein: a large nitrogenous organic macromolecule that yields amino acids on hydrolysis and is a major constituent of living things: les protéines du lait.^[4][2][5]
2. (nutrition) Such substances as part of the diet: protéines végétales, protéines animales.^[3]

Word family

• protéique
• protéinique
• protéiné
• holoprotéine
• hétéroprotéine

Related words

• protide
• protéide
• proto-
• Ancient Greek πρῶτος (prôtos)
• English protein

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com