SINCE 1828

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

Medical Dictionary

ergothioneine

play play

noun er·go·thi·o·ne·ine \ˌər-gō-ˌthī-ˈō-nē-ˌēn, -ˈän-ē-\

Medical Definition of ergothioneine

: a crystalline betaine C₉H₁₅N₃O₂S that is found especially in ergot and blood—called also thioneine

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up ergothioneine? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

WORD OF THE DAY

volplane

play

to glide in or as if in an airplane

Words at Play

alt-594d2b6325245

'Pride': The Word That Went From Vice to Strength

Do you take pride in Pride?

Pink: The Color that Will Change Your Life

From Fuchsia to Baker-Miller Pink

That Sucks Word Alternatives

Your day is the worst. Your vocabulary is the best.

alt-5931949575ca5

'All the Feels,' All the Time

Once more, with 'feels'

Ask the Editors

Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?

Language changes

The Serial Comma

Why don't they call it the Merriam-Webster comma?

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless

Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals

Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

istock-refers-to-this-as-a-tumble-of-strawberries-which-sounded-pretty-nice-to-us

June 2017 Words of the Day Quiz

Summer's first WOTD quiz.

Take the quiz

alt-5941ad7527c3c

Yearbook Superlatives Quiz

Is that your picture under "Largest Vocabulary"?

Take the quiz

True or False?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

Take the quiz

SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!

Play the game