Chitin
WordNet
noun
(1) A tough semitransparent horny substance; the principal component of the exoskeletons of arthropods and the cell walls of certain fungi
WiktionaryText
Etymology
From < . See also .
Noun
- A complex polysaccharide, a polymer of N-acetylglucosamine, found in the exoskeletons of arthropods and in the cell walls of fungi; thought to be responsible for some forms of asthma in humans.
Quotations
- 1880, Arthur Gamgee, A Text-book of the Physiological Chemistry of the Animal Body, Macmillan, p. 299
- Chitin usually occurs throughout Invertebrates in the form of an investment to the outermost cellular layer or ectoderm.
- 2004, New Scientist, 11 Sep 2004, p.19
- The robot’s energy source is the sugar in the polysaccharide called chitin that makes up a fly’s exoskeleton.