sulphonylurea

S1U1L1P3H4O1N1Y4L1U1R1E1A1

A form of sulfonylurea — Any of a class of antidiabetic drugs that act by increasing insulin release from the beta cells in the pancreas; some are also used as herbicides.

OriginEnglish urea ← French urée ← Ancient Greek οὖρον (oûron) →
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Meanings

nounsulphonylurea (plural sulphonylureas)

plural sulphonylureas

  1. alternativeAlternative spelling of sulfonylurea.

    The cryophilic phenotype of the atu mutant was alleviated to some extent by administering rotenone, a pharmacological inhibitor of oxidative phosphorylation, but not tolbutamide, a sulphonylurea that stimulates metabolic rate by raising the lymphatic concentration of glucose.

    2009 March 27, Ken-ichi Takeuchi et al., “Changes in Temperature Preferences and Energy Homeostasis in Dystroglycan Mutants”, in Science, volume 323, number 5922, →DOI, pages 1740–1743

Origin

  1. Englishsulphonyl
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁wers-
  3. Ancient Greekοὐρέω (ouréō)
  4. Ancient Greekοὖρον (oûron)
  5. Frenchurée
  6. Englishurea
  7. Englishsulphonylurea

From sulphonyl + urea.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

sulphonylurea. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sulphonylurea

MLA

“sulphonylurea.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sulphonylurea. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sulphonylurea,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sulphonylurea.

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