Penams

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Bicyclic fused ring structures forming the core chemical framework shared by penicillin-type antibiotics
2. Basic sulfur-containing beta-lactam ring systems that serve as the central skeleton of penicillin antibiotics
3. Chemical skeletons built from a fused thiazolidine and beta-lactam ring that underlie the penicillin family of drugs

Etymology: Penams are a family of antibiotics, and the name is a deliberate blend rather than a single inherited word. It combines "penicillin", the mould-derived antibiotic named after the genus "Penicillium", with "lactam", the chemical term for the ring structure these drugs share. The "pen" comes from the front of penicillin and the "am" from the end of lactam, so the name packs the two source words into one short coinage. Penicillin itself takes its name from "Penicillium", the fungus genus, which was built from Latin "pēnicillus", a small brush or paintbrush. The fungi's brush-like spore structures gave them that name. The "lact" in lactam comes from Latin "lac", milk, through the chemical lactone family, which is why the ring is named after a substance that was once linked to milk sugars.