Definition of vitamin Vitamin

/vajˈtʌmʌn/ - [vaytumun] - vit•a•min

We found 5 definitions of vitamin from 5 different sources.

What does vitamin mean?

WordNet

Noun Plural: vitamins
vitamin - any of a group of organic substances essential in small quantities to normal metabolism
		aliment, nutriment, alimentation, nourishment, nutrition, sustenance, victuals a source of materials to nourish the body
		multivitamin, multivitamin pill a pill or tablet containing several vitamins
		fat-soluble vitamin any vitamin that is soluble in fats

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Wiktionary

vitamin (Noun)
Any of a specific group of organic compound s essential in small quantities for healthy human growth, metabolism, development, and body function; found in minute amounts in plant and animal foods or sometimes produced synthetically; deficiencies of specific vitamins produce specific disorders.

OmegaWiki DictionaryOmegaWiki Dictionary Ω

vitamin
An organic compound present in variable, minute quantities in natural foodstuffs and essential for the normal processes of growth and maintenance of the body.

Wikipedia

A vitamin is an acid that is needed for the human body to work correctly. They include Vitamin A, many B vitamins (like B1, B2, B3, B6, and B12), Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, and Vitamin K. For example, citrus fruits such as oranges and lemons contain vitamin C.

Many vitamins can not be made by the body itself. The body needs to obtain them through other routes, usually through food. A short term lack of a certain vitamin is usually not a problem, as the body is able to store vitamins for a short time. Not having a certain vitamin for a longer period of time can lead to different diseases, depending on the lacking vitamin. Probably the best-known of these diseases is scurvy, which results from not having enough Vitamin C.

Today, many pharmaceutical companies make inexpensive pills that contain various vitamins. These pills are sold as a supplement.

Name changes.

Currently there are no vitamins F to J. These existed at some time. Today they are either reclassified (no longer seen as vitamins). Some of them were also false leads, and turned out to be something else. Some were also renamed, because they are close to "Vitamin B". Today, the B vitamins are a whole complex, and not just one vitamin.

The German-speaking scientists who isolated and described vitamin K (in addition to naming it as such) did so because the vitamin is intimately involved in the 'Koagulation' (clotting) of blood following wounding. At the time, most (but not all) of the letters from F through I were