heme

See also: hème

English

Alternative forms

• haem, haeme (UK)

Etymology

Back-formation from hemoglobin.

Pronunciation

• (US, UK) IPA^(key): /hiːm/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːm

Noun

heme (countable and uncountable, plural hemes)

1. (biochemistry) The component of hemoglobin (and other hemoproteins) responsible for binding oxygen. It consists of an iron ion that binds oxygen and a porphyrin ring that binds the globin molecules; one molecule binds one molecule of oxygen.
   • 2008, John Greer, John Foerster, George Rodgers, Fixos Paraskevas, Bertil Glader, Daniel Arber, Robert Means Jr, Wintrobe's Clinical Hematology: Volume One: Twelfth Edition, page 141:

     The binding of oxygen to the iron molecule causes the hemoglobin molecule to undergo conformational changes that affect the binding of oxygen to other heme sites.

   • 2018, Ruth Reichl, Silvia Killingsworth, The Best American Food Writing 2018, Mariner Books, →ISBN, page 152:

     Impossible's breakthrough was in discovering that meat's essence comes from heme—the iron-rich molecule in blood that carries oxygen and is responsible for the deep-red color.

Derived terms

• deoxyheme
• diheme
• hemic
• monoheme
• multiheme
• octaheme
• oxyheme
• sulfheme
• tetraheme
• triheme

 

Related terms

• hemoglobin

Translations

component of hemoglobin

• Czech: hem (cs) m
• French: hème (fr) m
• German: Häm n
• Hungarian: hem (hu)
• Italian: eme (it) m
• Portuguese: heme (pt) m
• Spanish: hemo m

See also

• bilirubin
• red blood cell

 

Further reading

• heme on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Ido

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈheme/

Adverb

heme

1. at home

Middle English

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old English -hǣme, related to hām (“home; village, community”). This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Noun

heme (plural heamen)

1. inhabitant, villager

Descendants

• English: heme

References

• “hēme, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

From Old English ġehēme. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Adjective

heme

1. fitting, suitable

Descendants

• English: heme

References

• “hẹ̄me, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 3

Noun

heme

1. Alternative form of em

Etymology 4

Pronoun

heme

1. Alternative form of hem (“them”)

Etymology 5

Noun

heme

1. Alternative form of hem (“hem”)

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²heːmə/

Adverb

heme

1. (dialectal, nonstandard) alternative form of heime (“at home”)
   • 1949, Alf Prøysen, Dørstokken heme [The Doorstep at Home], Høvik, page 14:

     Og andre gongen han vakner ligg han heme.

     And the other time he wakes, he's at home.

Spanish

Etymology

From he (adverb) +‎ me (pronoun).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈeme/ [ˈe.me]
• Rhymes: -eme
• Syllabification: he‧me

Phrase

heme

1. here I am

Verb

heme

1. inflection of haber:
   1. second-person singular imperative combined with me
   2. second-person singular voseo imperative combined with me