chromatophore

[kruh-mat-uh-fawr, -fohr, kroh-muh-tuh‐]

noun

Zoology. a cell containing pigment, especially one that through contraction and expansion produces a temporary color, as in cuttlefishes.

Botany. one of the colored plastids in plant cells.

Origin of chromatophore

First recorded in 1860–65; chromato- + -phore

Related formschro·mat·o·phor·ic

[kruh-mat-uh-fawr-ik, ‐for-ik, kroh-muh-tuh‐] /krəˌmæt əˈfɔr ɪk, ‐ˈfɒr ɪk, ˈkroʊ mə tə‐/, chro·ma·toph·or·ous

[kroh-muh-tof-er-uh s] /ˌkroʊ məˈtɒf ər əs/, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for chromatophore

Historical Examples of chromatophore

A pyrenoid lies in a fold of the chromatophore on the dorsal part.
The Diatomaceae of Philadelphia and Vicinity
Charles Sumner Boyer
The pyrenoid is evidently concerned in the formation of the chromatophore, or in its division.
The Diatomaceae of Philadelphia and Vicinity
Charles Sumner Boyer
The cell-wall and the chromatophore bands divide, each nucleus passes to the centre, and two new cells are formed.
The Diatomaceae of Philadelphia and Vicinity
Charles Sumner Boyer
Chromatophore single, covering the entire interior of the frustule, except the ventral part of the zone and the median lines.
The Diatomaceae of Philadelphia and Vicinity
Charles Sumner Boyer
Schmitz states that the chromatophore is thickened in the middle and contains a pyrenoid.
The Diatomaceae of Philadelphia and Vicinity
Charles Sumner Boyer

British Dictionary definitions for chromatophore

chromatophore

noun

a cell in the skin of frogs, chameleons, etc, in which pigment is concentrated or dispersed, causing the animal to change colour

another name for chromoplast

Derived Formschromatophoric or chromatophorous (ˌkrəʊməˈtɒfərəs), adjective

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 chromatophore

"pigment cell," 1864, from chromato- + Greek -phoros "bearing, bearer," from pherein "to carry" (see infer).

chromatophore in Medicine

chromatophore

[krō-măt′ə-fôr′]

n.

A specialized pigment-bearing organelle in certain photosynthetic bacteria and cyanobacteria.

A pigment-bearing phagocyte found chiefly in the skin, mucous membrane, and choroid coat of the eye, as well as in melanomas.pigment cell

Variant ofchromophore

Related formschro•mat′o•phor′ic (-fôr′ĭk) adj.