collagen

C3O1L1L1A1G2E1N1
UK/ˈkɒləd͡ʒɪn/UK/ˈkɒləd͡ʒən/US/ˈkɑləd͡ʒən/

noun

The main structural protein in the extracellular matrix of the connective tissues of many animals.

OriginFrench collagène ← Ancient Greek κόλλα →
Less commonScrabble 11
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nouncollagen (countable and uncountable, plural collagens)

plural collagens

  1. countableuncountablebiochemistryThe main structural protein in the extracellular matrix of the connective tissues of many animals.

    Science cannot yet account for the conversion of collagen into gelatin.

    1843, R. F. Marchand, “On the Chemical Composition of the Bones”, in The Chemist, volume 4, page 57

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekκόλλα“glue”
  2. Frenchcollagène
  3. Englishcollagen

From French collagène, coined from Ancient Greek κόλλα (kólla, “glue”) and -γενής (-genḗs, “-forming”) (see -gen); it is the main substance that animal glues are derived from.

More words from French, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic كولاجين
  • كولاجينglycoprotein that forms elongated fibers
Catalan col·lagen
  • col·lagenglycoprotein that forms elongated fibers
Chinese Mandarin 膠原蛋白 /胶原蛋白
  • 膠原蛋白 /胶原蛋白 (jiāoyuán dànbái)glycoprotein that forms elongated fibers
Czech kolagen
  • kolagenglycoprotein that forms elongated fibers
Dutch collageen
  • collageenglycoprotein that forms elongated fibers
Finnish kollageeni
  • kollageeniglycoprotein that forms elongated fibers
French collagène
  • collagèneglycoprotein that forms elongated fibers
German Kollagen
  • Kollagenglycoprotein that forms elongated fibers
Greek κολλαγόνο
  • κολλαγόνο (kollagóno)glycoprotein that forms elongated fibers
Hungarian kollagén
  • kollagénglycoprotein that forms elongated fibers
Italian collagene, collageno
  • collageneglycoprotein that forms elongated fibers
  • collagenoglycoprotein that forms elongated fibers
Japanese コラーゲン, 膠原質
  • コラーゲン (korāgen)glycoprotein that forms elongated fibers
  • 膠原質 (kōgenshitsu)glycoprotein that forms elongated fibers
Māori weu pūmua
  • weu pūmuaglycoprotein that forms elongated fibers
Polish kolagen
  • kolagenglycoprotein that forms elongated fibers
Portuguese colágeno, colagénio
  • colágenoglycoprotein that forms elongated fibers
  • colagénioglycoprotein that forms elongated fibers
Romanian colagen
  • colagenglycoprotein that forms elongated fibers
Russian коллаге́н
  • коллаге́н (kollagén)glycoprotein that forms elongated fibers
Slovak kolagén
  • kolagénglycoprotein that forms elongated fibers
Spanish colágeno
  • colágenoglycoprotein that forms elongated fibers
Swahili kolajeni
  • kolajeniglycoprotein that forms elongated fibers
Swedish kollagen
  • kollagenglycoprotein that forms elongated fibers
Thai คอลลาเจน
  • คอลลาเจน (kɔn-laa-jên)glycoprotein that forms elongated fibers
Turkish kolajen
  • kolajenglycoprotein that forms elongated fibers
Cite this entry
APA

collagen. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/collagen

MLA

“collagen.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/collagen. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “collagen,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/collagen.

Source: collagen on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.