Skip to content
ontologydriven
Sign out

Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

ptomaine en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /ˈtəʊmeɪn/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /ˈtoʊmeɪn/ (General-American)
  • (US) audio

Etymology

From French ptomaïne, from Italian ptomaina, from Ancient Greek πτῶμα (ptôma, “corpse”).

Meanings

  1. (countable, uncountable) Any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria.
    • On 6 February 2001 the Yaremche Environmental Health Inspectorate (санітарно-епідеміологічна станція) concluded that the cemetery should not have been constructed on the VL [Vorokhtya Lisokombinat] plot in view of its proximity to residential buildings and the risk of contamination of the surrounding environment by ptomaine. 2014 April 9, European Court of Human Rights, Dzemyuk v. Ukraine, number 42488/02, marginal 10:
  2. (countable, dated, uncountable) Food poisoning.
    • Elinor said: "One used to be rather afraid of eating fish pastes. There have been cases of ptomaine poisoning from them, haven't there?" 1940, Agatha Christie, Sad Cypress: A Poirot Mystery, page 92:
    • You remember Leonard Skinner. He got ptomaine poisoning last night after dinner. 1963, Allan Sherman, ‘’Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter from Camp)
    • That is the place to find the kinds of shikses Who Will Do Anything! If only a person is willing to risk polio from the pool, gangrene from the footbath, ptomaine from the hot dogs, and elephantiasis from the soap and the towels, he might possibly get laid. 1969, Philip Roth, Portnoy’s Complaint, New York: Vintage, published 1994, page 165:
    • Sandwiches arrived from outside, strange granular bread, the butter on it liquid, some sort of beige meat paste that hinted at ptomaine. 1989, Margaret Atwood, Cat's Eye:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
ptomaines Number=Plur lexicographic
ptomain alternative lexicographic
ptomaïne alternative lexicographic

Deriveds

leucomaine

Synonyms

cadaveric alkaloid

Translations (32)

lv ptomaīns (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · cs ptomain (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · tl tomayna (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · sh птома̀ӣн (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · sh ptomàīn (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · it ptomaina (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · bg трупна отрова (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · da liggift (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · id ptomaina (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · es tomaína (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · es ptomaína (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · ru птомаи́н (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · de Leichengift (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · ro ptomaină (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · pl jad trupi (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · lt ptomainas (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · hu ptomain (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · sk ptomaín (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · ru тру́пный я́д (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · uk птомаїн (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · cmn 屍毒 /尸毒 (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · el πτωμαΐνη (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · de Ptomain (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · fr ptomaïne (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · pt ptomaína (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · da ptomain (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · io ptomaino (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · eo ptomaino (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · cmn 屍鹼 /尸碱 (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · ga tóimín (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · pl ptomaina (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria) · fi ptomaiini (any of various amines formed by putrefactive bacteria)