polysaccharide

P3O1L1Y4S1A1C3C3H4A1R1I1D2E1

noun

A polymer made of many saccharide units linked by glycosidic bonds.

“Meronym: saccharide”

Similar
polyose
OriginEnglish saccharide ← Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ← Latin saccharum →
Less commonScrabble 27
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Meanings

nounpolysaccharide (plural polysaccharides)

plural polysaccharides

  1. biochemistryA polymer made of many saccharide units linked by glycosidic bonds.

    Meronym: saccharide

    1 more example

    Cellulose, starches, and complex carbohydrates, such as glycogen, are common polysaccharides in biology.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounany of a class of carbohydrates whose molecules contain chains of monosaccharide molecules

Similar
polyose
Broader
carbohydratesaccharidesugar
Also see
polycarbohydratepolyose

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*pleh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*polh₁ús
  3. Ancient Greekπολῠ́ς (polŭ́s)
  4. Englishpoly-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*ḱorkeh₂
  6. Proto-Indo-Iranian*ćárkaraH
  7. Proto-Indo-Aryan*śárkaraH
  8. Sanskritशर्क॑रा (śárkarā)
  9. Palisakkharā
  10. Ancient Greekσάκχαρ (sákkhar)
  11. Latinsaccharon
  12. Latinsaccharum
  13. Englishsaccharo-
  14. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-
  15. Englishsaccharide
  16. Englishpolysaccharide

From poly- + saccharide.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan polisacàrid
  • polisacàridcomplex carbohydrate
Chinese Cantonese 多醣 /多糖
  • 多醣 /多糖 (do¹ tong⁴)complex carbohydrate
Chinese Mandarin 多醣 /多糖
  • 多醣 /多糖 (duōtáng)complex carbohydrate
Czech polysacharid
  • polysacharidcomplex carbohydrate
Dutch polysacharide
  • polysacharidecomplex carbohydrate
Finnish polysakkaridi
  • polysakkaridicomplex carbohydrate
French polysaccharide
  • polysaccharidecomplex carbohydrate
German Polysaccharid
  • Polysaccharidcomplex carbohydrate
Hungarian poliszacharid
  • poliszacharidcomplex carbohydrate
Indonesian polisakarida
  • polisakaridacomplex carbohydrate
Italian polisaccaride
  • polisaccaridecomplex carbohydrate
Japanese 多糖
  • 多糖 (tatō)complex carbohydrate
Malay polisakarida
  • polisakaridacomplex carbohydrate
Māori hukarau
  • hukaraucomplex carbohydrate
Persian پلیساکارید
  • پلیساکارید (poli-sâkârid)complex carbohydrate
Polish polisacharyd
  • polisacharydcomplex carbohydrate
Portuguese polissacarídeo
  • polissacarídeocomplex carbohydrate
Spanish polisacárido
  • polisacáridocomplex carbohydrate
Swedish polysackarid
  • polysackaridcomplex carbohydrate
Turkish polisakkarit
  • polisakkaritcomplex carbohydrate
Ukrainian полісахари́д, поліцукри́д
  • полісахари́д (polisaxarýd)complex carbohydrate
  • поліцукри́д (policukrýd)complex carbohydrate
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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