A fleming

[flem-ing] /ˈflɛm ɪŋ/
noun
sir alexander, 1881–1955, scottish bacteriologist and physician: discoverer of penicillin 1928; n-bel prize in medicine 1945.
ian (lancaster) 1908–64, british writer of suspense novels.
peggy (gale) born 1948, u.s. figure skater.
fleming1
/ˈflɛmɪŋ/
noun
a native or inhabitant of flanders or a flemish-speaking belgian compare walloon
word origin
c14: from middle dutch vlaminc
fleming2
/ˈflɛmɪŋ/
noun
sir alexander. 1881–1955, scottish bacteriologist: discovered lysozyme (1922) and penicillin (1928): shared the n-bel prize for physiology or medicine in 1945
ian (lancaster). 1908–64, english author of spy novels; creator of the secret agent james bond
sir john ambrose. 1849–1945, english electrical engineer: invented the thermionic valve (1904)
renée. born 1959, us operatic soprano and songwriter
fleming
n.

old english flæming “native or inhabitant of flanders,” and old frisian fleming, from proto-germanic -flam- (cf. medieval latin flamingus); see flanders.

fleming flem·ing (flěm’ĭng), sir alexander. 1881-1955.

british bacteriologist who discovered penicillin in 1928. he shared a 1945 n-bel prize for this achievement.
fleming
(flěm’ĭng)
scottish bacteriologist who discovered penicillin in 1928. the drug was developed and purified 11 years later by howard florey and ernst chain, with whom fleming shared the 1945 n-bel prize for physiology or medicine. fleming was also the first to administer typhoid vaccines to humans.

our living language : many famous scientific discoveries come about by accident, and such was the case with penicillin. the first and still best-known antibiotic, penicillin is a natural substance excreted by a type of mold of the genus penicillium. it so happened that a scottish bacteriologist, alexander fleming, was doing research on staphylococcal bacteria in the late 1920s and noticed that one culture had become contaminated with some mold. what was curious was that there was a circular area around the mold that was free of bacterial growth. after some investigation, fleming discerned that the mold was excreting a substance deadly to the bacteria, and he named it penicillin in the mold’s honor. fleming had already discovered another natural antibacterial substance a few years earlier in 1921—lysozyme, an enzyme contained in tears and saliva. but the discovery of penicillin was of far greater importance, although its impact was not fully felt right away because fleming lacked the equipment necessary to isolate the active compound and to synthesize it in quant-ties that could be used medicinally. this happened a dozen years later during world war ii and stimulated the development of new drugs that could fight infections transmitted on the battlefield. two other scientists, ernst chain and howard florey, were responsible for this further work, and together with fleming the three shared the 1945 n-bel prize for physiology or medicine.