hemagglutinin
|he-ma-glut-i-nin|
/ˌhiːməˈɡlʌtənɪn/
blood-clumping protein
Etymology
'hemagglutinin' originates from Greek 'haima' meaning 'blood' and from Neo-Latin/French 'agglutinin' (from Latin elements 'ad-' 'to' + 'glutinare' 'to glue'), combining to mean a substance that 'glues' or clumps blood cells.
'hemagglutinin' appeared in scientific usage in the late 19th / early 20th century; the form 'haemagglutinin' (with 'ae') was common in older British spelling and later standardized in some contexts to 'hemagglutinin' in American usage. The word formed by combining the elements 'hema-' + 'agglutinin'.
Initially it meant 'a substance that causes blood to clump'; this core meaning has been retained, though it later became closely associated with specific viral surface proteins (e.g., influenza hemagglutinin) used in virology and immunology.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a substance (often a protein) that causes red blood cells to agglutinate (clump together).
The laboratory test detected a hemagglutinin that caused rapid clumping of the sample's red blood cells.
Synonyms
Noun 2
specifically, the viral surface glycoprotein (as in influenza viruses) that binds to sialic acid on host cells and is responsible for hemagglutination; used to designate subtypes (e.g., H1, H3).
Researchers studied changes in the influenza virus hemagglutinin to understand antigenic drift.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/10/31 02:42