Calciferol
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Vitamin D₃ (C₂₇H₄₄O) uncountable
"Owing to the exceptional difficulty of purification in the sterol group, we cannot yet be certain that this substance is a single compound, but we think the provisional adoption of a new name is justified, for the sake of convenience, and suggest “Calciferol” in view of the high antirachitic activity of the substance."
- 2 a fat-soluble vitamin that prevents rickets wordnet
Example
More examples"Owing to the exceptional difficulty of purification in the sterol group, we cannot yet be certain that this substance is a single compound, but we think the provisional adoption of a new name is justified, for the sake of convenience, and suggest “Calciferol” in view of the high antirachitic activity of the substance."
Etymology
Coined in 1931 as a blend of calciferous + sterol (see quote below).
Related phrases
More for "calciferol"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.