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chromatophore

[kruh-mat-uh-fawr, -fohr, kroh-muh-tuh‐]
noun
  1. Zoology. a cell containing pigment, especially one that through contraction and expansion produces a temporary color, as in cuttlefishes.
  2. Botany. one of the colored plastids in plant cells.
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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. 2018

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 cell-wall and the chromatophore bands divide, each nucleus passes to the centre, and two new cells are formed.

  • Chromatophore single, covering the entire interior of the frustule, except the ventral part of the zone and the median lines.

  • Schmitz states that the chromatophore is thickened in the middle and contains a pyrenoid.

British Dictionary definitions for chromatophore

chromatophore

noun
  1. a cell in the skin of frogs, chameleons, etc, in which pigment is concentrated or dispersed, causing the animal to change colour
  2. another name for chromoplast
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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

n.

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

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
chromatophore in Medicine

chromatophore

(krō-măt′ə-fôr′)
n.
  1. A specialized pigment-bearing organelle in certain photosynthetic bacteria and cyanobacteria.
  2. A pigment-bearing phagocyte found chiefly in the skin, mucous membrane, and choroid coat of the eye, as well as in melanomas.pigment cell
  3. Variant ofchromophore
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Related formschro•mat′o•phor′ic (-fôr′ĭk) adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.