thiamine: Meaning and Definition of

thi•a•mine

1. a white, crystalline, water-soluble compound of the vitamin-B complex, containing a thiazole and a pyrimidine group, CHClNOS, essential for normal functioning of the nervous system, a deficiency of which results chiefly in beriberi and other nerve disorders: occurring in many natural sources, as green peas, liver, and esp. the seed coats of cereal grains, the commercial product of which is chiefly synthesized in the form of its chloridefor therapeutic administration, or in nitrate formfor enriching flour mixes.