chroma
[kroh-muh]
- the purity of a color, or its freedom from white or gray.
- intensity of distinctive hue; saturation of a color.
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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. 2018
Related Words
varnishoilenamelcolormakeupcosmeticpigmentwaxdyestainlatexacrylichuecomplexiontingeglowcolorationintensitypainttintExamples from the Web for chroma
Historical Examples
Three scales united,—each step a change of hue, value, and chroma.
A Color NotationAlbert H. Munsell
Initial for hue, numeral above for value, numeral below for chroma.
A Color NotationAlbert H. Munsell
Chroma is the quality by which we distinguish a strong color from a weak one.
A Color NotationAlbert H. Munsell
For definitions of Hue, Value, and Chroma, see paragraphs 20–23.
A Color NotationAlbert H. Munsell
Opposites unequal both in value and chroma (R7/3 and BG3/7).
A Color NotationAlbert H. Munsell
chroma
- 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
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Word Origin
C19: from Greek khrōma colour
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for chroma
n.
"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.)).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper