"reddish pigment found in bile," 1868, from German bilirubin (1864), from bili- "bile" (see bile) + Latin ruber "red" (from PIE root *reudh- "red, ruddy") + -ine (2).
an orange-yellow pigment in the bile that forms as a product of hemoglobin; excess amounts in the blood produce the yellow appearance observed in jaundice;
