Etymology

hapten

H4A1P3T1E1N1

Today it means: Any small molecule that can elicit an immune response only when attached to a large carrier such as a protein. Full definition →

German Hapten ← Ancient Greek ἅπτειν
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The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromἅπτειν“to fasten”
  2. German · derived fromHapten
  3. English todayhapten

Early 20th century: from German Hapten, from Ancient Greek ἅπτειν (háptein, “to fasten”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.