antihemagglutinin
|an-ti-he-ma-glut-i-nin|
🇺🇸
/ˌæn.ti.hiː.məˈɡlʌtɪnɪn/
🇬🇧
/ˌæn.ti.hɪməˈɡlʌtɪnɪn/
antibody against blood-cell clumping
Etymology
'antihemagglutinin' originates from modern English, specifically a compound of the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek, meaning 'against') and 'hemagglutinin' (from Greek 'haima' meaning 'blood' + Latin 'gluten' meaning 'glue,' via the formation 'glutinin' for substances causing clumping).
'hemagglutinin' was formed in biomedical usage in the late 19th to early 20th century (compare German 'Hämagglutinin'); combining with the productive English prefix 'anti-' produced 'antihemagglutinin' to denote antibodies opposing that activity.
Initially, the root referred to a substance that caused blood cells to clump; over time 'antihemagglutinin' has come to mean specifically antibodies or agents that neutralize or inhibit such clumping, a usage stable in immunology.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
an antibody that neutralizes or inhibits a hemagglutinin, preventing hemagglutination (the clumping of red blood cells) often directed against viral hemagglutinins.
The laboratory detected antihemagglutinins in the patient's serum that reacted with the influenza strain.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/09/01 22:51