melanizev.
/ˈmɛlənʌɪz/, U.S. /ˈmɛləˌnaɪz/ Biology.
1. transitive. To subject to melanization; to cause the production or accumulation of melanin in or around (esp. as a physiological defence mechanism in insects).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > physical aspects or shapes > colour or texture > [verb (transitive)] > melanize
melanize1967
1967 [see melanizing n. and adj. at Derivatives].
1978 Science 30 June 1456/2 Larger sized bodies are encapsulated..and rendered harmless by being melanized.
1985 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) B. 310 123 Infected larvae..subsequently encapsulate and melanize the dead ciliates.
1994 Developmental & Compar. Immunol. 18 369 The capacity to melanize foreign particles is present in susceptible mosquitoes.
2. intransitive. To undergo melanization; to darken as a result of melanin formation.
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1982 Science 17 Sept. 1150/2 Consistent with this suggestion are the failure of the two GEM-81 subclones to melanize..[etc.].
1984 J. W. Deacon Introd. Mod. Mycol. (ed. 2) iv. 72 Further back..the surface of the rhizomorph ‘melanizes’, this being an oxidative process involving the polymerization of phenolic residues.
1995 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 92 10698/1 Injury causes the [insect] cuticle to darken or melanize around the damaged zone.
Derivatives
ˈmelanizing n. and adj.
ΚΠ
1967 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 58 346 Apart from their direct melanizing functions in melanoblasts, many (perhaps all [pigmentary genes]) have other expressions in developing hair follicles.
1971 Jrnl. Reprod. Fertility 25 103 Black rabbits showed intense melanizing activity and albinos none.
1995 Jrnl. Biol. Chem. 270 4213/1 (heading) Lysosomal hydrolases are present in melanosomes and are elevated in melanizing cells.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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