chroma

n. [ Cf. F. chromate. See Chrome. ] (Chem.) A salt of chromic acid. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. chromaticus, Gr. &unr_;, suited for color, fr. &unr_;, &unr_;, color; akin to &unr_; color, &unr_; skin, color of the skin. ] 1. Relating to color, or to colors. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mus.) Proceeding by the smaller intervals (half steps or semitones) of the scale, instead of the regular intervals of the diatonic scale. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The intermediate tones were formerly written and printed in colors. [ 1913 Webster ]

Chromatic aberration. (Opt.) See Aberration, 4. --
Chromatic printing, printing from type or blocks covered with inks of various colors. --
Chromatic scale (Mus.), the scale consisting of thirteen tones, including the eight scale tones and the five intermediate tones. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Chromatic. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a chromatic manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. the quality of a color as determined by its dominant wavelength.
Syn. -- hue. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. The science of colors; that part of optics which treats of the properties of colors. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Cell Biol.) one of two identical strands into which a chromosome splits during mitosis. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. (Biol.) The deeply staining substance of the nucleus and chromosomes of eukaryotic cells, composed of DNA and basic proteins (such as histones), the DNA of which comprises the predominant physical basis of inheritance. It was, at the beginning of the 20th century, supposed to be the same substance as was then termed idioplasm or germ plasm. In most eukaryotic cells, there is also DNA in certain plasmids, such as mitochondria, or (in plant cells) chloroplasts; but with the exception of these cytoplasmic genetic factors, the nuclear DNA of the chromatin is believed to contain all the genetic information required to code for the development of an adult organism. In the interphase nucleus the chromosomes are dispersed, but during cell division or meiosis they are condensed into the individually recognizable chromosomes. The set of chromosomes, or a photographic representation of the full set of chromosomes of a cell (often ordered for presentation) is called a karyotype. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]