oligosaccharide

noun

a saccharide polymer containing a small number (typically two to ten) of simple sugars (monosaccharides)

Wiktionary

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree Ancient Greek ὀλῐ́γος (olĭ́gos)der. English oligo- Proto-Indo-European *ḱorkeh₂ Proto-Indo-Iranian *ćárkaraH Proto-Indo-Aryan *śárkaraH Sanskrit शर्क॑रा (śárkarā) Pali sakkharābor. Ancient Greek σάκχᾰρον (sákkhăron)bor. Latin saccharon Latin saccharum English saccharo- Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der. Proto-Italic *-iðos Latin -idusder. English -ide English saccharide English oligosaccharide From oligo- + saccharide.

A polysaccharide of low molecular weight, being a polymer of between three and eight monosaccharide units.