# phycobilin

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. Any of a group of bilins (pigments derived from porphyrins) found in some photosynthetic algae; they are open-chain tetrapyrroles related to mammalian bile pigments.

## Etymology
From international scientific vocabulary, reflecting New Latin roots/stems referring to plants and bile. By surface analysis, phyco- + bilin = phyco- + bili- + -in, although according to American Heritage Dictionary, bilin was back-formed from phycobilin (as opposed to phycobilin being derived from bilin as surface analysis suggests).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/phycobilin