Plural form of 'haptene,' referring to multiple small molecules that can trigger immune responses when bound to larger proteins.
Plural of the variant spelling 'haptene,' which itself derives from Greek 'haptein' meaning 'to fasten.' The -enes ending reflects the older nomenclature style used in early immunological terminology.
In older scientific papers, you might encounter 'haptenes' as a plural form, but modern immunologists almost exclusively use 'haptens'—linguistic evolution happens in science just as much as it does in everyday language.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.