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squa·lene

(skwālēn′)

An unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbon, C₃₀H₅₀, that is the biosynthetic acyclic precursor to tetracyclic steroids such as cholesterol. It is widely found in animals, plants, and fungi and is present in high concentrations in shark liver oil and human sebum.

[New Latin Squalus, shark genus (from its occurrence in the liver oil of sharks) (from Latin squalus, a sea fish) + -ENE.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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