enzyme
NounOpen English WordNet
Noun (1)enzymes
- any of several complex proteins that are produced by cells and act as catalysts in specific biochemical reactionsType of protein, catalystKinds protease, de-iodinase, oxidoreductase, adenosine deaminase, decarboxylase, catalase, elastase, polymerase, lysozyme, pepsin +34 moreParts active site
a state or condition markedly different from the norm
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: Pref. en- (Gr. ἐν in) + Gr. ζύμη leaven.
Physiol. Chem. A protein produced by a living organism, capable of catalyzing a chemical reaction. Almost all processes in living organisms require some form of enzyme to cause the reactions to occur at a rate sufficient to support life. There are a very wide variety of enzymes, each specifically catalyzing a different chemical reaction, the sum of which cause the bulk of the physiological changes observed as life processes. Enzymes, like most proteins, are synthesized by the protein-synthetic mechanism of the living cell, at special sites on ribosomes, using the genetic information in messenger RNA transcribed from the genetic instructions stored as nucleotide sequences in the DNA (or in some viruses, the RNA) of the genome. Some examples of enzymes are: pepsin, diastase, rennet, DNA polymerase, invertase, glucose oxidase, protease, and ribonuclease. There are many other types of enzyme.
The 1913 Webster defined an enzyme as: An unorganized or unformed ferment, in distinction from an organized or living ferment; a soluble, or chemical, ferment.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54 · with additions: +PJC, GCIDE editors