Carotene
/ˈkærətiːn/noun
An orange plant pigment, the main dietary source of vitamin A, found in carrots, sweet potatoes and dark leafy greens.
The Greek roots
Literally: “carrot substance”
The story of the word
Heinrich Wackenroder crystallised it out of carrot roots in 1831 and named it after the vegetable, whose own name goes back through Latin carota to Greek καρωτόν. The body cleaves one molecule of beta-carotene into two of vitamin A, and it will not make more than it needs, so carotene does not cause vitamin A poisoning. Eat enough of it and the surplus tints the skin orange, a harmless condition called carotenaemia that is most often seen in babies fed a lot of puréed carrot.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → scientific coinage → English
- First recorded
- 19th century
The same roots elsewhere
Other languages reached for exactly the same Greek pieces.
Same family
In a sentence
Roasting does not destroy the carotene; a little oil helps you absorb it.