aleurone-deficient
|a-leur-one-de-fi-cient|
🇺🇸
/əˈlʊəroʊn dɪˈfɪʃənt/
🇬🇧
/əˈlʊərəʊn dɪˈfɪʃ(ə)nt/
lacking the aleurone layer
Etymology
'aleurone-deficient' originates as a compound of the noun 'aleurone' and the adjective 'deficient'. 'aleurone' itself originates from Greek, specifically the word 'aleuron', where the root meant 'flour' (used in Neo-Latin/French botanical terminology). 'deficient' originates from Latin, specifically 'deficiens' (from 'deficere'), where the element meant 'lacking' or 'failing'.
'aleuron' was adapted into Neo-Latin/French as 'aleurone' and entered English botanical vocabulary in the 19th century to denote the specific layer of seed endosperm; Latin 'deficiens' passed into Old/Middle French and then English as 'deficient', preserving the sense of 'lacking' or 'not sufficient'.
Initially, 'aleuron' conveyed a 'flour-like' quality and later became specialized in botany to name the aleurone layer; 'deficient' originally conveyed 'failing' or 'being insufficient' and has kept the general sense of 'lacking'. Combined, the compound came to mean 'lacking the aleurone layer' in technical descriptions of seeds or grains.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a condition or state of being deficient in the aleurone layer; the absence or reduction of the aleurone layer in a seed or grain (this is the noun form transformed from the adjective base).
Aleurone deficiency in seeds can reduce nutrient mobilization during germination.
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Antonyms
Adjective 1
lacking or deficient in the aleurone layer (the protein- and enzyme-rich outer layer of the endosperm in cereal grains).
The aleurone-deficient barley showed lower enzyme release during germination.
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Last updated: 2025/12/15 10:14