serine

S1E1R1I1N1E1
/ˈsɪə(ɹ)iːn/

noun

A nonessential amino acid, CH₂OH.CH(NH₂)COOH, found in most animal proteins, notably silk.

OriginLatin sēricus ← Ancient Greek σηρῐκός (sērĭkós) ← Old Chinese 絲 (*sə)der.? →
Less commonScrabble 6
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounserine (countable and uncountable, plural serines)

plural serines

  1. countableuncountablebiochemistryA nonessential amino acid, CH₂OH.CH(NH₂)COOH, found in most animal proteins, notably silk.

Origin

  1. Old Chinese絲 (*sə)der.?
  2. Ancient Greekσήρ (sḗr)
  3. Ancient Greekσηρῐκός (sērĭkós)
  4. Latinsēricus
  5. Englishserine

From Latin sericus (“silken”). The compound was first obtained from silk protein, a particularly rich source, in 1865. See also serge.

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian серин
  • серин (serin)nonessential amino acid; CH2OH.CH(NH2)COOH
Chinese Mandarin 絲胺酸 /丝胺酸
  • 絲胺酸 /丝胺酸 (sī'ānsuān)nonessential amino acid; CH2OH.CH(NH2)COOH
Czech serin
  • serinnonessential amino acid; CH2OH.CH(NH2)COOH
Esperanto serino
  • serinononessential amino acid; CH2OH.CH(NH2)COOH
Finnish seriini
  • seriininonessential amino acid; CH2OH.CH(NH2)COOH
French sérine
  • sérinenonessential amino acid; CH2OH.CH(NH2)COOH
German Serin
  • Serinnonessential amino acid; CH2OH.CH(NH2)COOH
Greek σερίνη
  • σερίνη (seríni)nonessential amino acid; CH2OH.CH(NH2)COOH
Italian serina
  • serinanonessential amino acid; CH2OH.CH(NH2)COOH
Japanese セリン
  • セリン (serin)nonessential amino acid; CH2OH.CH(NH2)COOH
Māori herina
  • herinanonessential amino acid; CH2OH.CH(NH2)COOH
Polish seryna
  • serynanonessential amino acid; CH2OH.CH(NH2)COOH
Romanian serină
  • serinănonessential amino acid; CH2OH.CH(NH2)COOH
Russian сери́н
  • сери́н (serín)nonessential amino acid; CH2OH.CH(NH2)COOH
Slovak serín
  • serínnonessential amino acid; CH2OH.CH(NH2)COOH
Spanish serina
  • serinanonessential amino acid; CH2OH.CH(NH2)COOH
Swedish serin
  • serinnonessential amino acid; CH2OH.CH(NH2)COOH

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

EisnerseinersireneRiesenNereisErsine
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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