UREA
urea, carbamide
(noun) the chief solid component of mammalian urine; synthesized from ammonia and carbon dioxide and used as fertilizer and in animal feed and in plastics
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
urea (countable and uncountable, plural ureas)
(organic compound, uncountable) A water-soluble organic compound, CO(NH2)2, formed by the metabolism of proteins and excreted in the urine.
(chemistry, countable) Any N-substituted derivative of urea, with the general formula (R1R2N)CO(NR3R4).
Synonyms
• carbamide
Anagrams
• eaur
Source: Wiktionary
U"re*a, a. Etym: [NL. See Urine.] (Physiol. Chem.)
Definition: A very soluble crystalline body which is the chief constituent
of the urine in mammals and some other animals. It is also present in
small quantity in blood, serous fluids, lymph, the liver, etc.
Note: It is the main product of the regressive metamorphosis
(katabolism) of proteid matter in the body, and is excreted daily to
the amount of about 500 grains by a man of average weight. Chemically
it is carbamide, CO(NH2)2, and when heated with strong acids or
alkalies is decomposed into carbonic acid and ammonia. It unites with
acids to form salts, as nitrate of urea, and it can be made
synthetically from ammonium cyanate, with which it is isomeric. Urea
ferment, a soluble ferment formed by certain bacteria, which,
however, yield the ferment from the body of their cells only after
they have been killed by alcohol. It causes urea to take up water and
decompose into carbonic acid and ammonia. Many different bacteria
possess this property, especially Bacterium ureæ and Micrococcus
ureæ, which are found abundantly in urines undergoing alkaline
fermentation.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition