casein Chem.
(ˈkeɪsiːɪn, ˈkeɪsiːn)
(Incorrectly -ine.)
[f. L. case-us cheese + -in.]
1. a. A substance belonging to the class of Proteids or Albuminoids, forming one of the chief constituents of milk; chemically identical with the Legumin (also called vegetable casein), of the seeds of leguminous plants; also, the product precipitated as curd and applied to various commercial uses. Casein is coagulated by acids, and forms the basis of cheese.
On the applications of casein and caseinogen see next.
| 1841 Lond. Edin. & Dub. Jrnl. Dec. No. 126 Vegetable Caseine. 1845–6 G. E. Day tr. Simon's Anim. Chem. II. 55 However much the nutriment of the mother may vary, no great influence is thereby exerted on the relative quantities of casein and sugar. 1863 Wynter Subt. Brains & Liss. Fing. 157 Casein, or cheese, exists more abundantly in peas and beans than it does in milk itself. 1869 Roscoe Elem. Chem. 434 Casein is the nitrogenous substance contained in milk and cheese. 1891 [see caseinogen]. 1919 E. E. Slosson Creative Chem. 142 A mixture of casein and celluloid has something of the merits of both. 1939 Nature 29 Apr. 734/1 A wool-like fibre is made from casein by dissolving in alkali solution and forcing under pressure into a solution containing acid, formaldehyde and either salts or sugars. 1966 A. W. Lewis Gloss. Woodworking Terms 37 Casein or cold-water glue. Curd obtained from skimmed milk is dried and ground to powder and then mixed with lime and sodium carbonate. |
b. Jocularly for ‘the cheese’, ‘the correct thing’.
| 1856 Kingsley Let. May (D.) Horn minnow looks like a gudgeon, which is the pure caseine. |
2. attrib., as casein plastic, a plastic material prepared by a reaction of casein with formaldehyde.
| 1889 Cent. Dict., Casein glue, a glue made by dissolving casein in a strong solution of borax, used as a substitute for ordinary glue by bookbinders and joiners. 1934 Thorpe's Dict. Appl. Chem. Suppl. I. 255 (heading) Casein plastics. 1937 Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. XLI. 526 Unlike casein cements, they are proof against the attacks of mould and fungus. 1943 V. E. Yarsley in R. S. Morrell Synth. Resins (ed. 2) ii. 59 Casein plastic works in all respects like horn and ivory, and it can be turned, drilled, polished, stamped, moulded, and engraved. 1951 R. Mayer Artist's Handbk. iv. 179 Emulsions of casein solutions with oils are easily made. |