guanine
UK[ˈɡwɑː.niːn]US[ˈɡwɑː.niːn]
n
A purine base that is a component of nucleotides in DNA and RNA.
Etymology
The term "guanine" was coined in the mid-19th century from the German "Guanin," which itself was derived from "Guano," the Spanish word for seabird excrement, from the Quechua "wanu." This is because the compound was first isolated from guano. The suffix "-ine" is a common chemical suffix used in English to denote alkaloids, organic bases, or amino acids, borrowed from French and ultimately from Latin "-ina." Thus, the word's literal history connects it to its source material (guano) and its classification as a chemical base.
Analysis
The word "guanine" is a simplex loanword. It is not productively formed from separable English morphemes. Its components are bound within the whole form.
Examples
Guanine pairs with cytosine in the double helix structure of DNA.
The scientist studied the mutation's effect on the guanine-cytosine bond.
A high concentration of guanine in fish scales gives them a silvery, reflective appearance.