Main Entry:

car·o·tene

Pronunciation:

\ˈker-ə-ˌtēn, ˈka-rə-\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

International Scientific Vocabulary, from Late Latin carota carrot

Date:

1861

: any of several orange or red crystalline hydrocarbon pigments (as C₄₀H₅₆) that occur in the chromoplasts of plants and in the fatty tissues of plant-eating animals and are convertible to vitamin A — compare beta-carotene