sphingine
nounEtymology From (the stem of) Latin sphinx + -ine.
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Chemistry, Natural sciences, Organic chemistry, Physical sciences The amino alcohol 2-amino-octadecanol CH₃(CH₂)₁₅-CH(NH₂)-CH₂OH related to sphingosine; any related amino alcohol
sphingine
adjEtymology From (the stem of) Latin sphinx + -ine.
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Rare Sphinx-like.
- For whenever she asked him how much he had written, he regularly answered 'Nothing,' smiling at her meanwhile that courteous and Sphingine smile which Mrs Aldwinkle always found so baffling, so pre-eminently 'queer'.1925, Aldous Huxley, Those Barren Leaves:
- The word I was looking for, I suppose, was "sphingine" – I thought of the baleful prehistoric smile of the Mycenaean women.1974, Lawrence Durrell, Monsieur, Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 109: