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