gramicidin

[ gram-uh-sahyd-n ]

noun

, Pharmacology.

1. a crystalline, water-insoluble antibiotic obtained from tyrothrycin by extraction, used chiefly in treating local infections caused by Gram-positive organisms.

gramicidin

/ ˌɡræmɪˈsaɪdɪn /

noun

1. an antibiotic used in treating local Gram-positive bacterial infections: obtained from the soil bacterium Bacillus brevis

Word History and Origins

Origin of gramicidin¹

First recorded in 1935–40; Gram-(positive) + -i- + -cide + -in ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of gramicidin¹

C20: from Gram ( -positive ) + -cid ( e ) + -in

Example Sentences

Margaret spent her fourth year working in Dorothy's lab on a crystal of the molecule Gramicidin S, which had been grown in the Soviet Union and sent to Dorothy for analysis.

From BBC

Gramicidin is not a mold extract, but is produced by bacteria.

From Time Magazine Archive

The development of penicillin was independent of our work with gramicidin.

From Time Magazine Archive

By this method and refinements of it, he at last found, in a sample of cranberry bog soil sent to him by Waksman, an organism from whose cultures he separated an active fraction that he named gramicidin.

From Time Magazine Archive

In spite of such failings, gramicidin touched off a chain reaction.

From Time Magazine Archive