polypeptide

P3O1L1Y4P3E1P3T1I1D2E1

noun

Any polymer of (same or different) amino acids joined via peptide bonds.

OriginEnglish peptide ← German Peptid ← Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- →
Less commonScrabble 21
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounpolypeptide (plural polypeptides)

plural polypeptides

  1. chemistryAny polymer of (same or different) amino acids joined via peptide bonds.
  2. biochemistryAny such polymer that is not folded into a secondary structure of a protein.
  3. biochemistryA small protein containing up to 100 amino acids; see also oligopeptide.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*pleh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*polh₁ús
  3. Ancient Greekπολῠ́ς (polŭ́s)
  4. Englishpoly-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*pekʷ-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*pékʷ-ye-
  7. Proto-Hellenic*pét͏̌t͏̌ō
  8. Ancient Greekπέσσω (péssō)bf.
  9. Ancient Greekπέπτω (péptō)
  10. Ancient Greekπεπτόν (peptón)
  11. GermanPepton
  12. Englishpeptone
  13. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-
  14. GermanPepton
  15. GermanPeptid
  16. Englishpeptide
  17. Englishpolypeptide

From poly- + peptide.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan polipèptid
  • polipèptidorganic chemistry: any polymer amino acids joined via peptide bonds
Chinese Cantonese 多肽, 多肽
  • 多肽 (do¹ taai³)organic chemistry: any polymer amino acids joined via peptide bonds
  • 多肽 (do¹ taai³)biochemistry: any such polymer that is not folded into a secondary structure of a protein
  • 多肽 (do¹ taai³)biochemistry: a small protein containing up to 100 amino acids
Chinese Mandarin 多肽, 多肽
  • 多肽 (duōtài)organic chemistry: any polymer amino acids joined via peptide bonds
  • 多肽 (duōtài)biochemistry: any such polymer that is not folded into a secondary structure of a protein
  • 多肽 (duōtài)biochemistry: a small protein containing up to 100 amino acids
Esperanto polipeptido
  • polipeptidoorganic chemistry: any polymer amino acids joined via peptide bonds
Finnish peptidi, polypeptidi
  • peptidiorganic chemistry: any polymer amino acids joined via peptide bonds
  • polypeptidibiochemistry: any such polymer that is not folded into a secondary structure of a protein
  • polypeptidibiochemistry: a small protein containing up to 100 amino acids
French polypeptide, polypeptide
  • polypeptideorganic chemistry: any polymer amino acids joined via peptide bonds
  • polypeptidebiochemistry: any such polymer that is not folded into a secondary structure of a protein
  • polypeptidebiochemistry: a small protein containing up to 100 amino acids
Italian polipeptide, polipeptide
  • polipeptideorganic chemistry: any polymer amino acids joined via peptide bonds
  • polipeptidebiochemistry: any such polymer that is not folded into a secondary structure of a protein
  • polipeptidebiochemistry: a small protein containing up to 100 amino acids
Japanese ポリペプチド
  • ポリペプチド (poripepuchido)organic chemistry: any polymer amino acids joined via peptide bonds
Portuguese polipeptídeo, polipeptídeo
  • polipeptídeobiochemistry: any such polymer that is not folded into a secondary structure of a protein
  • polipeptídeobiochemistry: a small protein containing up to 100 amino acids
Spanish polipéptido
  • polipéptidoorganic chemistry: any polymer amino acids joined via peptide bonds
Turkish polipeptit
  • polipeptitorganic chemistry: any polymer amino acids joined via peptide bonds
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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