Collagen

//ˈkɒləd͡ʒən// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The main structural protein in the extracellular matrix of the connective tissues of many animals. countable, uncountable

    "Science cannot yet account for the conversion of collagen into gelatin."

  2. 2
    a fibrous scleroprotein in bone and cartilage and tendon and other connective tissue; yields gelatin on boiling wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
hemoglobinprotein

Example

More examples

"Collagen is a protein that aids the joining of tissues."

Etymology

From French collagène, coined from Ancient Greek κόλλα (kólla, “glue”) and -γενής (-genḗs, “-forming”) (see -gen); it is the main substance that animal glues are derived from. Doublet of collage, colloid, and protocol.

Related phrases

collagen diseaseconnective tissue

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.