From French collagène (Gannal, 1843) = Greek kolla (glue) + -genēs (producing), PIE *ǵenh₁- (to beget). Named because boiling connective tissue yields glue — the molecule's oldest known property. The most abundant protein in the human body, forming the structural scaffold of skin, bone, and sinew. Same kolla root as collage, colloid, and protocol.
The main structural protein in connective tissue, constituting 25–35% of total mammalian protein, present in skin, bones, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and blood vessels.
From French 'collagène' (coined c. 1838 by chemist Auguste-Nicolas Gendrin), from Greek 'kólla' (κόλλα, glue, adhesive paste) + '-genes' (γενής, producing, born of, from 'gignesthai,' to be born), from PIE *gloy- (to stick, to adhere) and *gen- (to produce, to give birth). Greek 'kólla' is the ancestor of English 'collage' (a gluing-together of materials) and 'protocol' (from 'prōtokollon,' the first glued sheet of a manuscript). Collagen is the most abundant structural protein in vertebrate bodies, forming
Collagen is named for the ancient craft of glue-making. For thousands of years, artisans boiled animal hides and bones to extract a sticky substance — without knowing they were denaturing a structural protein. Gannal coined collagène in 1843, naming the molecule after its oldest industrial application. Glue-making from animal tissue dates