chromatic
/kɹəˈmæt.ɪk/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.91 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
One of three types of tetrachord (the others being the diatonic and enharmonic), with an interval between half and four-fifths of the total interval of a tetrachord.
adj
Relating to or using notes not belonging to the diatonic scale of the key in which a passage of music is written.
adj
Relating to chromatin (a complex of DNA, RNA, and proteins within the cell nucleus out of which chromosomes condense during cell division).
Example Sentences
- "All the intervals of the scale that are a whole tone (step) distant from each other may be divided into half tones, (small steps), forming an entire scale of small intervals, (half tones), called the Chromatic Scale. […] All the tones (steps) of the scale being thus divided, either by means of the sharp or flat, we shall have for our Chromatic Scale thirteen intervals, of a half tone (small step) each."
- "Each nucleus has, then, (1) a protoplasmic body, and (2) a portion formed of nuclein, which is the chromatin of [Walther] Flemming. […] The chromatic reticulum of Flemming is only an appearance due to the regular crossing of its convolutions, rarely to their temporary union."
- "The chromatic threads next arrange themselves in the equatorial plane of the nucleus, and then divide into two groups of threads, each of which forms a daughter nucleus."
- "Prof. [Sydney Howard] Vines also attacks my view of the idioplasmatic nature of the nuclear substance (the chromatic grains); and maintains that it is as easy to speak of the continuity of the cell-body as of that of the nuclear substance, and that the one may transmit heritable qualities to progeny as well as the other."
- "If we are amazed at the precision with which the chromatic elements of the nucleus are divided and distributed, we can be no less astonished at the wonderful directive influence exercised by the asters upon the nuclei; […]"
Etymology
Borrowed from French chromatique (“chromatic”) or directly from its etymon Latin chrōmaticus, from Ancient Greek χρωματικός (khrōmatikós, “relating to colour; one of the three types of tetrachord in Greek music”), from χρῶμα (khrôma, “colour; pigment; chromatic scale in music; music”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰer- (“to grind; to rub; to stroke; to remove”), perhaps in the sense of the grinding of pigments) + -τῐκός (-tĭkós, suffix forming adjectives); analysable as chroma + -tic.
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /kɹəˈmæt.ɪk/
- British English: /kɹəˈmæt.ɪk/
Inflected Forms
more chromatic (comparative)
most chromatic (superlative)