Definitions

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

  • noun A form of amylase in the saliva of humans and some animals that catalyzes the hydrolysis of starch into maltose and dextrin.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The peculiar principle of saliva, believed to be a proteid body, which acts as a ferment on starch, rapidly converting it into dextrose.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Physiol. Chem.) An unorganized amylolytic ferment, on enzyme, present in human mixed saliva and in the saliva of some animals.

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

  • noun biochemistry A form of amylase found in saliva that breaks down starch into maltose and dextrin.

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

  • noun an amylase secreted in saliva

Etymologies

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

[Greek ptualon, saliva (from ptūein, to spit) + –in.]

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