ornithine
English
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/L-Ornithine_structure.png/220px-L-Ornithine_structure.png)
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “ornitho- -ine?”)
Noun
ornithine (countable and uncountable, plural ornithines)
- (biochemistry, organic chemistry) An amino acid, 2,5-diaminopentanoic acid, that is not present in protein, but is an intermediate in the biosynthesis of urea.