albino

[ al-bahy-nohor, especially British, -bee- ]

noun

, plural al·bi·nos.

1. a person with pale skin, light hair, pinkish eyes, and visual abnormalities resulting from a hereditary inability to produce the pigment melanin.
2. an animal or plant with a marked deficiency in pigmentation.
3. Philately. an embossed stamp accidentally left without ink.

albino

/ ˌælbɪˈnɒtɪk; ælˈbiːnəʊ; ælˈbɪnɪk; ˈælbɪˌnɪzəm /

noun

1. a person with congenital absence of pigmentation in the skin, eyes, and hair
2. any animal or plant that is deficient in pigment

albino

/ ăl-bī′nō /

1. An organism lacking normal pigmentation or coloration. Animals that are albinos lack pigmentation due to a congenital absence of melanin. In humans and other mammals, albinos have white hair, pale skin, and usually pinkish eyes. Plants that are albinos lack normal amounts of chlorophyll or other pigments.

Derived Forms

• albinic, adjective
• albinotic, adjective
• albinism, noun

Other Words From

• al·bin·ic [al-, bin, -ik], al·bi·nal [al, -b, uh, -nl], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of albino¹

1770–80; < Portuguese, equivalent to alb ( o ) white (< Latin albus ) + -ino -ine ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of albino¹

C18: via Portuguese from Spanish, from albo white, from Latin albus

Example Sentences

In June, Albino reunited with his family in California, his niece Alida Alequin, a 63-year-old Oakland resident, told the Bay Area newspaper.

From Los Angeles Times

Alequin recounted her family’s experience and her search for Albino.

From Los Angeles Times

Luis Armando Albino was 6 years old when he was abducted from a park in West Oakland where he had been playing with his older brother in 1951.

From Los Angeles Times

Now, more than 70 years later, Albino has been found.

From Los Angeles Times

The Mercury News reported this week that Albino’s niece in Oakland, using DNA testing and newspaper clippings — and with assistance from police, the FBI and the Justice Department — found her uncle living on the East Coast.

From Los Angeles Times