CHITIN

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

Meaning:

A tough semitransparent horny substance; the principal component of the exoskeletons of arthropods and the cell walls of certain fungi

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("chitin" is a kind of...):

polyose; polysaccharide (any of a class of carbohydrates whose molecules contain chains of monosaccharide molecules)

Meronyms (substance of "chitin"):

glucosamine (an amino derivative of glucose that is a component of many polysaccharides)

Derivation:

chitinous (of or resembling chitin)