Meanings
plural menaquinones
- biochemistryA pale yellow crystalline naphthoquinone C₄₁H₅₆O₂ that is obtained especially from putrefied fish meal and produced by bacteria in the large intestine and essential for the blood-clotting process. It is much more unsaturated than vitamin K₁ and slightly less active biologically, and is an isoprenoid derivative of menadione.
Synonyms: vitamin K2
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA pale yellow crystalline naphthoquinone C₄₁H₅₆O₂ that is obtained especially from putrefied fish meal and produced by bacteria in the large intestine and essential for the blood-clotting process. It is much more unsaturated than vitamin K₁ and slightly less active biologically, and is an isoprenoid derivative of menadione.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*médʰu
- Proto-Hellenic*métʰu
- Ancient Greekμέθυ (méthu)
- Proto-Indo-European*swel-der.?
- Ancient Greekῡ̔́λη (hū́lē)
- GermanMethy
- Englishme(thyl)
- Englishna(phtho)quinone
- Englishmenaquinone
From me(thyl) + na(phtho)quinone.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
menaquinone. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/menaquinone
“menaquinone.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/menaquinone. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “menaquinone,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/menaquinone.
Source: menaquinone on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.