pyrimidine

py rim i dine |pəˈriməˌdēn, pī -pəˈrɪmədin | ▶noun Chemistry a colorless crystalline compound with basic properties. [A heteroaromatic compound; chem. formula: C 4 H 4 N 2. ] • (also pyrimidine base ) a substituted derivative of this, esp. the bases thymine and cytosine present in DNA. ORIGIN late 19th cent.: from German Pyrimidin, from pyridine, with the insertion of -im- from imide .

pyrimidine

pyrimidine |pɪˈrɪmɪdiːn | ▶noun [ mass noun ] Chemistry a colourless crystalline compound with basic properties. ●A heteroaromatic compound; chem. formula: C 4 H 4 N 2. • (also pyrimidine base ) [ count noun ] a substituted derivative of pyrimidine, especially the bases thymine and cytosine present in DNA. ORIGIN late 19th cent.: from German Pyrimidin, from pyridine, with the insertion of -im- from imide .