Definition of "saccharide"
(biochemistry) The unit structure of carbohydrates, of general formula CnH2nOn. Either the simple sugars or polymers such as starch and cellulose. The saccharides exist in either a ring or short chain conformation, and typically contain five or six carbon atoms.
Quotations
The saccharides include such substances as dextrose and levulose, which are typical examples of the two classes into which these bodies are divisible, viz. the Aldoses and Ketoses.
1895, Richard Lloyd Whiteley, chapter XXXV, in Organic Chemistry: The Fatty Compounds, London, New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., page 263