Meanings
nountheophylline (uncountable)
- uncountablechemistryA bitter crystalline compound present in small quantities in tea leaves, isomeric with theobromine; used as a drug in therapy for respiratory diseases.
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna colorless crystalline alkaloid derived from tea leaves or made synthetically; used in medicine as a bronchial dilator
Similar
ElixophyllinSlo-BidTheobid
Broader
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰleh₃-
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰolyom
- Proto-Hellenic[Term?]
- Ancient Greekφύλλον (phúllon)
- Englishtheophylline
From Translingual Thea (“former genus name for the tea plant”) + Ancient Greek φύλλον (phúllon, “leaf”) + English -ine.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Czech theofylin, teofylin
- theofylinchemical substance
- teofylinchemical substance
Finnish teofylliini
- teofylliinichemical substance
French théophylline
- théophyllinechemical substance
Polish teofilina
- teofilinachemical substance
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with theophylline
amoxicillinpenicillinampicillinpiperacillinoxacillinticarcillincarbenicillincloxacillindicloxacillinnafcillinbenzylpenicillincarindacillin-cillinmeticillinphenoxymethylpenicillin
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
theophylline. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/theophylline
MLA
“theophylline.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/theophylline. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “theophylline,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/theophylline.
Source: theophylline on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.