" proteases "

[Noun]  | "pro*te*ase" | \ ˈprō-tē-ˌās \

1: any of numerous enzymes that hydrolyze proteins and are classified according to the most prominent functional group (such as serine or cysteine) at the active site —called also proteinase

Origin: 1903 ;

 Borrowed from French protéase, from protéine {see: |protein|protein} + -ase {see: |-ase|-ase};

  * Note : The French term was probably introduced by the Italian microbiologist and philosopher Giovanni Malfitano (1872-1941) in "Sur le protéase de l'Aspergillus niger," Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, tome quatorzième (1900), p. 420. The term protease was used in English without attribution to Malfitano and perhaps coined independently by the British botanist Sydney Howard Vines (1849-1934) in "Proteolytic Enzymes in Plants," Annals of Botany, vol. 17, no. 65 (January, 1903), p. 237.;