different between chromatic vs achromatic

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /k???mæt?k/, /k???-/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /k?o??mæt?k/, [-??k]
• Rhymes: -æt?k
• Hyphenation: chro?mat?ic

Etymology 1

Borrowed from French chromatique (“chromatic”) or directly from its etymon Latin chr?maticus, from Ancient Greek ?????????? (khr?matikós, “relating to colour; one of the three types of tetrachord in Greek music”), from ????? (khrôma, “colour; pigment; chromatic scale in music; music”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *g?er- (“to grind; to rub; to stroke; to remove”), perhaps in the sense of the grinding of pigments) + -????? (-tikós, suffix forming adjectives); analysable as chroma +? -atic.

Adjective

chromatic (not generally comparable, comparative more chromatic, superlative most chromatic)

1. Uses relating to colour
   1. (not comparable) Characterized or caused by, or relating to, colour or hue.

      Antonym: nonchromatic

   2. (comparable) Brightly coloured; colourful, vivid.

      Antonyms: achromatic, drab, dull, colourless, nonchromatic

   3. (not comparable, optics) Having the capacity to separate spectral colours by refraction.
2. (not comparable, music)
   1. (Ancient Greece, historical) 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.
   2. Relating to or using notes not belonging to the diatonic scale of the key in which a passage of music is written.

      Antonyms: achromatic, diatonic

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Etymology 2

From chromatin +? -ic (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives from nouns).

Adjective

chromatic (not comparable)

1. (biology) Relating to chromatin (“a complex of DNA, RNA, and proteins within the cell nucleus out of which chromosomes condense during cell division”).

Translations

References

Further reading

• colour on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• diatonic and chromatic on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• chromatic (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• chromatic in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• chromatic in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• chromatic at OneLook Dictionary Search

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ???????????? (akhr?mátistos, “uncolored”), from ?- (a-, “not”) + ????? (khrôma, “color”); compare French achromatique

Pronunciation

• (US, UK) IPA^(key): /?æk????mæt.?k/

Adjective

achromatic (comparative more achromatic, superlative most achromatic)

1. (optics) Free from color; transmitting light without color-related distortion.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:achromatic

2. Containing components such as achromatic lenses and prisms, designed to prevent color-related distortion.
3. (biology) Uncolored; not absorbing color from a fluid; -- said of tissue
4. (music) Having only the diatonic notes of the scale; not modified by accidentals.
5. Being achromatic in subject

Related terms

Translations