Lysozyme

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of enzyme that breaks down bacterial cell walls, aiding in the body's immune response and protecting against infections
2. An antimicrobial enzyme found in various bodily fluids, contributing to the defense against bacteria by hydrolyzing peptidoglycan
3. A naturally occurring enzyme that serves to degrade the cell walls of certain bacteria, playing a key role in innate immunity and microbiological balance

Etymology: Lysozyme was named in the 1920s by Alexander Fleming, who found that tears and nasal mucus could kill certain bacteria. Its name is a compound built from two pieces: "lyso-", from the Greek "lúein" meaning "to loosen or dissolve," and "enzyme," a word coined in the nineteenth century for substances that drive chemical change in living things. Together they describe an enzyme that breaks down, or dissolves, bacterial cell material. The "lyso-" element comes from the Greek verb "lúō," which is the source of the Greek noun "lúsis," meaning a loosening or release. In scientific English, "lyso-" appears in many terms for substances that break cells apart, so the prefix carries the core idea of dissolution into the name. "Enzyme" itself was borrowed from the Greek "en zumē," meaning "in leaven," a reference to the fermentation of yeast.