kanamycinEnglishOxford New American Dictionarykanamycin /ˌkanəˈmīsin, ˌkænəˈmaɪsɪn / ▸ noun Medicine a broad-spectrum antibiotic obtained from a strain of bacteria. – ORIGIN 1950s : from modern Latin Streptomyces kanamyceticus, the name of the source bacterium (see also -mycin).