Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An antibody that reacts with a specific soluble antigen to produce a precipitate.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun An adaptation-product which is formed in the blood-serum of an animal of one species when immunized with albumins or albuminous derivatives obtained from an animal of an alien species. When the sera of the two animals are brought together a precipitate results, in the formation of which the immunizing substance plays the active and the immune substance the passive rôle.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun any antibody which reacts with an antigen to form a precipitate

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an antibody that causes precipitation when it unites with its antigen

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[precipit(ate) + –in.]

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Examples

  • Two minutes later, McReady held a test-tube with white precipitin settling slowly from straw-colored serum.

    Science Fiction Hall of Fame Various, 1973

  • McReady noticed him first, sit­ting on the edge of the bunk, with two precipitin-whitened test-tubes of straw-colored fluid, his face whiter than the stuff in the tubes, si­lent tears slipping down from horror-widened eyes.

    Science Fiction Hall of Fame Various, 1973

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