Added 9 October 2026
chromatic
/kɹəˈmæt.ɪk/ adjective
Latin root: chrōmaticus Wiktionary
adjective Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about chromatic at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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Able to refract light without spectral color separation.
chromatic lens
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Based on a scale consisting of 12 semitones.
a chromatic scale
- Being or having or characterized by hue.
Origin
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.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)