ptomaine

[ toh-meyn, toh-meyn ]

noun

1. any of a class of foul-smelling nitrogenous substances produced by bacteria during putrefaction of animal or plant protein: formerly thought to be toxic.

ptomaine

/ ˈtəʊmeɪn /

noun

1. any of a group of amines, such as cadaverine or putrescine, formed by decaying organic matter

ptomaine

/ tō′mān′ /

1. Any of various toxic nitrogenous organic compounds produced by bacterial decomposition of protein, especially in dead animal tissue. Ptomaines are bases and are formed by removing the carboxyl group (COOH) from amino acids. They do not cause food poisoning, as was previously thought, but the term ptomaine poisoning is still used to describe food poisoning caused by bacteria.

Other Words From

• pto·mainic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ptomaine¹

1875–80; < Italian ptomaina < Greek ptôma corpse + Italian -ina -ine ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of ptomaine¹

C19: from Italian ptomaina, from Greek ptoma corpse, from piptein to fall

Example Sentences

Reportedly contracting ptomaine from poisonous crabmeat en route from Alaska, Harding was ordered to bed rest on his train.

From Seattle Times

At about the same time, Ptomaine Tommy in Lincoln Heights was selling the “chili size,” a hamburger top-loaded with chili and sprinkled with chopped onions that in Ptomaine lingo were “violets” or “flowers.”

From Los Angeles Times

Like many local businesses in the 1920s, Ptomaine Tommy fielded an employee baseball team, generating headlines like “Glendora in 5-to-1 Win Over Ptomaines.”

From Los Angeles Times

When I was a kid, "ptomaine" was synonymous with gastrointestinal distress, a shorthand for the after effects of a potato salad left out too long at the picnic.

From Salon

In other words, whatever else I may have picked up from my childhood school cafeteria, it was never ptomaine.

From Salon