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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

vitamin.

Any of a specific group of organic compounds essential in small quantities for healthy human growth, metabolism, development, and body function. They are found in minute amounts in plant and animal foods or sometimes produced synthetically, and deficiencies of specific vitamins produce specific disorders.

7 characters3 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈvɪt.ə.mɪn/UK/ˈvaɪ.tə.mɪn/Canada, General-American[ˈvʌɪ.ɾə.mɪn]Canada, General-American/ˈvɑe.tə.mən/Australia
  1. Any of a specific group of organic compounds essential in small quantities for healthy human growth, metabolism, development, and body function. They are found in minute amounts in plant and animal foods or sometimes produced synthetically, and deficiencies of specific vitamins produce specific disorders.

    a food rich in vitamins
  2. preceding a word or its initial letter, to imply that the referent benefits health or wellness

    figuratively · informal
    Vitamin N: The Essential Guide to a Nature-Rich Life
    I just follow three three Cs: clean living, chewing thoroughly, and a daily dose of vitamin Church
Where this word comes from

First use appears c. 1920, originally vitamine (1912), from Latin vīta (“life”) (see vital) + amine (see amino acids). Vitamine coined by Polish biochemist Casimir Funk after the initial discovery of aberic acid (thiamine), when it was thought that all such nutrients would be amines. The term had become ubiquitous by the time it was discovered that vitamin C, among others, had no amine component. In 1920, British biochemist Jack Drummond proposed that the final -e be dropped to deemphasize the amine reference. The ending -in was acceptable because it was used for natural substances of undefined composition. Drummond also introduced the lettering system of nomenclature (Vitamin A, B, C, etc.) at this same time.

verb/ˈvɪt.ə.mɪn/UK/ˈvaɪ.tə.mɪn/Canada, General-American[ˈvʌɪ.ɾə.mɪn]Canada, General-American/ˈvɑe.tə.mən/Australia
  1. To fortify with vitamins.

    dated · transitive
Where this word comes from

First use appears c. 1920, originally vitamine (1912), from Latin vīta (“life”) (see vital) + amine (see amino acids). Vitamine coined by Polish biochemist Casimir Funk after the initial discovery of aberic acid (thiamine), when it was thought that all such nutrients would be amines. The term had become ubiquitous by the time it was discovered that vitamin C, among others, had no amine component. In 1920, British biochemist Jack Drummond proposed that the final -e be dropped to deemphasize the amine reference. The ending -in was acceptable because it was used for natural substances of undefined composition. Drummond also introduced the lettering system of nomenclature (Vitamin A, B, C, etc.) at this same time.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.