First Known Use: 1848
Dictionary
1prion
noun pri·on \ˈprī-ˌän\
Definition of PRION
: any of several small petrels (genus Pachyptila of the family Procellariidae) of the southern hemisphere that are bluish gray above and white below
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Origin of PRION
New Latin, from Greek priōn saw, from priein to saw; from its sawlike bill
Rhymes with PRION
aeon, add-on, agon, agone, Akan, Ambon, Amman, anon, Anshan, archon, argon, Argonne, atman, axon, bank on, barchan, baton, big on, Bion, blouson, bon ton, bonbon, boron, boson, bouillon, bring on, build on, bygone, caisson, call on, canton, capon, cast on, catch on, Ceylon, chaconne, Charon, chew on, chiffon, chiton, chrismon, Cimon, cistron, clip-on, codon, come-on, cordon, coupon, crampon, crayon, crepon, cretonne, crouton, Dacron, dead-on, Dear John, doggone, Dogon, Don Juan, exon, fall on, flacon, foregone, form on, Freon, fronton, futon, Garonne, get on, Gibran, gluon, gnomon, go on, guidon, hadron, Hainan, hand on, hands-on, hang on, have on, hazan, head-on, Henan, hereon, high on, hit on, hogan, hold on, Huainan, icon, intron, ion, jargon, Jinan, jomon, kanban, kaon, Kashan, keen on, Khoisan, Kirman, koan, krypton, kurgan, Kurgan, lauan, lepton, let on, lock on, log on, look on, Luzon, macron, Masan, Medan, Memnon, meson, micron, Milan, mod con, moron, mouton, Multan, muon, natron, nekton, neon, nephron, neuron, neutron, ninon, Nippon, nylon, odds-on, Oman, Oran, Orlon, paeon, parton, Pathan, pavane, pecan, peon, Phaëthon, photon, phyton, pick on, pion, piton, plankton, pluton, pompon, proton, Pusan, push on, put-on, pylon, python, racon, radon, rag on, rayon, recon, rhyton, run-on, run on, Saint John, Saipan, salon, San Juan, Schliemann, Schumann, Shaban, shaman, shaitan, Shingon, sign on, sit on, slip-on, snap-on, solon, Solon, soupçon, soutane, stand on, stolon, stuck on, Suwon, sweet on, Taiwan, taipan, take on, tampon, taxon, Teflon, Tehran, teston, thereon, Tian Shan, tisane, torchon, toucan, toyon, trade on, trigon, Tristan, triton, trogon, try on, Tucson, turned-on, turn on, Typhon, tzigane, uhlan, Ulsan, upon, wait on, walk-on, witan, whereon, Wonsan, wonton, work on, Wuhan, xenon, Xi'an, Yukon, Yunnan, zircon
2prion
noun pri·on \ˈprē-ˌän\
Definition of PRION
: any of several protein particles that are abnormal forms of normal cellular proteins, that lack nucleic acid, and that in mammals have been implicated as the cause of prion diseases when accumulated in the mammalian brain
Origin of PRION
proteinaceous + infectious + 2-on
First Known Use: 1982
Medical Dictionary
prion
noun pri·on \ˈprē-ˌän\
Medical Definition of PRION
: any of various infectious proteins that are abnormal forms of normal cellular proteins, that proliferate by inducing the normal protein to convert to the abnormal form, and that in mammals include pathogenic forms which arise sporadically, as a result of genetic mutation, or by transmission (as by ingestion of infected tissue) and which upon accumulation in the brain cause a prion disease
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