Word of the Day
: July 19, 2012luciferin
playWhat It Means
: any of various organic substances in luminescent organisms (as fireflies) that upon oxidation produce a virtually heatless light
luciferin in Context
"Luciferins vary in chemical structure; the luciferin of luminescent bacteria, for example, is completely different from that of fireflies." - From an article at
"Light is produced by fireflies through a chemical reaction between luciferin and its enzyme counterpart, luciferase." - From an article at photonics.com, June 20, 2012
Did You Know?
"Luciferin" got its name from the Latin word "lucifer" (meaning "light-bearing"), which is also a source of the word that is sometimes used as a name of the devil. We won't go into how Lucifer came to be called by that name-suffice it to say he wasn't always associated with darkness-but we will look a bit more closely at the Latin word "lucifer." It comes from Latin "luc-," meaning "light," plus "-fer," meaning "bearing" or "producing." Additional relatives include the nontechnical adjective "luciferous," meaning "bringing light or insight," and "luciferase," the enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of luciferin.
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Word Family Quiz
What word meaning "containing gold" traces back to the Latin word for gold plus "-fer"? The answer is ...
