Defn: A person, whether negro, Indian, or white, in whom by some defect of organization the substance which gives color to the skin, hair, and eyes is deficient or in a morbid state. An albino has a skin of a milky hue, with hair of the same color, and eyes with deep red pupil and pink or blue iris. The term is also used of the lower animals, as white mice, elephants, etc.; and of plants in a whitish condition from the absence of chlorophyll. Amer. Cyc.
Note: The term was originally applied by the Portuguese to negroes met with on the coast of Africa, who were mottled with white spots.
ALBINOISM
Al*bi"no*ism, n.
Defn: The state or condition of being an albino; albinism.
ALBINOTIC
Al`bi*not"ic, a.
Defn: Affected with albinism.
ALBION Al"bi*on, n. Etym: [Prob. from the same root as Gael. alp a height or hill. "It may have been bestowed on the land lying behind the white cliffs visible from the coast of Gaul. Albany, the old name of Scotland, means probably the "hilly land." I. Taylor.]
Defn: An ancient name of England, still retained in poetry.
In that nook-shotten isle of Albion. Shak.
ALBITE
Al"bite, n. Etym: [L. albus white.] (Min.)
Defn: A mineral of the feldspar family, triclinic in crystallization, and in composition a silicate of alumina and soda. It is a common constituent of granite and of various igneous rocks. See Feldspar.