bilirubin definitions

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an orange-yellow pigment in the bile that forms as a product of hemoglobin; excess amounts in the blood produce the yellow appearance observed in jaundice [syn: bilirubin, hematoidin, haematoidin]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Latin bilis + ruber red — more at red Date: 1871 a reddish-yellow water insoluble pigment occurring especially in bile and blood and causing jaundice if accumulated in excess

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. the orange-yellow pigment occurring in bile. Etymology: G f. L bilis BILE + ruber red

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bilirubin Bil`i*ru"bin, n. [L. bilis biel + ruber red.] (Physiol.) A reddish yellow pigment present in human bile, and in that from carnivorous and herbivorous animals; the normal biliary pigment.