alexin

Etymology

Ultimately from German Alexine, coined by Hans Buchner in 1891 from the Ancient Greek ἀλέξειν (aléxein).

noun

  1. (biochemistry, dated) A protective substance that exists in the serum or other bodily fluid and is capable of killing microorganisms; complement.
    The seed of our destruction will blossom in the desert, the alexin of our cure grows by a mountain rock […] 1929, Thomas Wolfe, Look Homeward, Angel, New York: Scribner, Part One, Chapter 1, p. 3

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