chroma

[kroh-muh]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR chroma ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the purity of a color, or its freedom from white or gray.

intensity of distinctive hue; saturation of a color.

Origin of chroma

First recorded in 1885–90, chroma is from the Greek word chrôma color

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for chroma

varnish, oil, enamel, color, makeup, cosmetic, pigment, wax, dye, stain, latex, acrylic, hue, complexion, tinge, glow, coloration, intensity, paint, tint

Examples from the Web for chroma

Historical Examples of chroma

Three scales united,—each step a change of hue, value, and chroma.
A Color Notation
Albert H. Munsell
Initial for hue, numeral above for value, numeral below for chroma.
A Color Notation
Albert H. Munsell
Chroma is the quality by which we distinguish a strong color from a weak one.
A Color Notation
Albert H. Munsell
For definitions of Hue, Value, and Chroma, see paragraphs 20–23.
A Color Notation
Albert H. Munsell
Opposites unequal both in value and chroma (R7/3 and BG3/7).
A Color Notation
Albert H. Munsell

British Dictionary definitions for chroma

chroma

noun

the attribute of a colour that enables an observer to judge how much chromatic colour it contains irrespective of achromatic colour presentSee also saturation (def. 4)

(in colour television) the colour component in a composite coded signal

Word Origin for chroma

C19: from Greek khrōma colour

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for chroma

"quality or intensity of color," 1889, from Latinized form of Greek khroma "surface of the body, skin, color of the skin," also used generically for "color" and, in plural, "ornaments, embellishments," related to khros "surface of the body, skin," khrozein "to touch the surface of the body, to tinge, to color;" the root is explained as being somehow from PIE *ghreu- "to rub, grind" (see grit (n.)).