Carotenes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of pigments occurring in plants that impart yellow, orange, or red hues to various fruits and vegetables
2. A collection of organic compounds found in many plants that contribute to the vibrant colors of fruits and vegetables, influencing their visual appeal
3. These natural pigments are essential for photosynthesis and are responsible for the yellow to red shades in numerous edible plants

Etymology: Carotenes are named after the carrot, and the carrot's name has a longer trail than most. Its ancestor is the ancient Greek "karōton", a word that passed into Latin as "carōta" and then into Middle French as "carotte". Middle English borrowed it as "karette", which over time became the modern English "carrot". The pigment name comes from that vegetable: the orange colour of carrots was first isolated and studied in that plant, and chemists added the suffix "-ene", a standard ending for unsaturated hydrocarbons, to make "carotene". The plural "carotenes" refers to the family of closely related compounds of this type, which share the same chemical building blocks and differ slightly in structure.