Standard Lemma guide

lecithin

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈlɛs.ə.θɪn/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɪn
  • CMU ARPABET: L EH1 S AH0 TH AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: L EH1 S IH0 TH IH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The principal phospholipid in animals; it is particularly abundant in egg yolks, and is extracted commercially from soy. It is a major constituent of cell membranes, and is commonly used as a food additive (as an emulsifier).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: chemistry, natural-sciences, organic-chemistry, physical-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a yellow phospholipid essential for the metabolism of fats; found in egg yolk and in many plant and animal cells; used commercially as an emulsifier

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: emulsifier, phospholipid

History

Etymology

From French lécithine, coined in 1847 by Theodore Gobley, from Ancient Greek λέκιθος (lékithos, “egg yolk”).

Across languages

Translations

22 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: lecitina — lecithin
  • Chinese Mandarin: 卵磷脂 (luǎnlínzhī) — lecithin
  • Czech: lecitin — lecithin
  • Dutch: lecithine — lecithin
  • Estonian: letsitiin — lecithin
  • Finnish: lesitiini — lecithin
  • German: Lecithin — lecithin
  • Greek: λεκιθίνη (lekithíni) — lecithin
  • Hindi: अंडपीति (aṇḍpīti) — lecithin
  • Icelandic: lesitín — lecithin
  • Irish: leicitin — lecithin
  • Italian: lecitina — lecithin
  • Korean: 레시틴 (resitin) — lecithin
  • Marathi: अंडपीति (aṇḍpīti) — lecithin
  • Nepali: अंडपीति (aṇḍapīti) — lecithin
  • Polish: lecytyna — lecithin
  • Russian: лецити́н (lecitín) — lecithin
  • Lower Sorbian: lecitin — lecithin
  • Upper Sorbian: lecitin — lecithin
  • Spanish: lecitina — lecithin
  • Turkish: lesitin — lecithin
  • Welsh: lesithin — lecithin