estrogen. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

estrogen

SYLLABICATION:	es·tro·gen
PRONUNCIATION:	str-jn
VARIANT FORMS:	also oes·tro·gen
NOUN:	Any of several steroid hormones produced chiefly by the ovaries and responsible for promoting estrus and the development and maintenance of female secondary sex characteristics.
ETYMOLOGY:	estr(us) + –gen.
OTHER FORMS:	estro·genic (-jnk) —ADJECTIVE estro·geni·cal·ly —ADVERB


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.