chromo
chromo — noun
1. a color picture made in the 1800s and early 1900s using an old printing method —
a color picture made in the 1800s and early 1900s using an old printing method — each color was pressed onto paper from a separate stone plate — and sold as cheap wall art for ordinary homes
Grandma kept a chromo of a sailing ship hanging above the fireplace for over fifty years.
collocation: chromo of [subject]
Tariro found a faded chromo of a rose garden at the antique market for only five dollars.
Unlike modern posters, each chromo was made by hand — a printer pressed an inked stone plate for each color.
The museum owns a collection of Victorian chromos that still have their bright original colors.
Rodrigo paid a high price for the chromo because only two hundred copies of that image were ever made.
- chromolithograph
the full technical term for a chromo; much less common in everyday speech
- lithograph
a broader category — chromolithographs are a subtype of lithographs that use multiple colors
用法筆記
Now largely replaced by photographic and digital prints, "chromo" is mainly encountered in antique-collecting and art-history contexts.
常見錯誤
chromo — combining form
1. relating to the appearance or property of color — used in scientific terms to de
relating to the appearance or property of color — used in scientific terms to describe things that are colored, show color, or produce color (for the chemical coloring matter inside substances, see the PIGMENT sense)
A chromosome is called a colored body in Greek because scientists saw it as a dark stain under a microscope.
example word: chromosome — semantic link to staining/dye
In the 1870s, a London publisher used chromolithography to add bright red, blue, and gold pictures to a children's storybook.
example word: chromolithograph — multi-stone color printing
In the lab, Zayd used a chromogenic stain that turned muscle fibers pink and bone cells blue under the microscope.
When a tomato ripens, the green chloroplasts inside its cells turn into red chromoplasts that store bright pigments.
- chromato-
also means 'color', but appears in different word families — 'chromato-' is used in chromatography, while 'chromo-' appears in chromosome and chromolithograph
文法句型
chromo- + noun
用法筆記
The combining form "chromo-" appears in many biology, chemistry, and art-history terms. It is not used as a standalone English word; it always attaches to another word element.
2. relating to the coloring matter inside substances — used in chemistry and biolog
relating to the coloring matter inside substances — used in chemistry and biology for the actual molecules or compounds that give a material its color, such as the pigment in plant cells or the agent that makes a stain work
The red stain on the kitchen counter came from a chromogen in beet juice that only appeared after it dried.
example word: chromogen — pigment precursor in food
The art teacher mixed natural chromoproteins from crushed berries with egg yolk to make watercolor paints.
example word: chromoprotein — pigment + protein compound in art supplies
Saira boiled red cabbage, and a chromogen in the water changed from purple to blue after she added baking soda.
In biology class, the students crushed spinach leaves to see the green chromoplasts floating in the liquid under the microscope.
文法句型
chromo- + noun
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1 (COLOR / COLORED): this sense focuses specifically on pigment molecules and coloring agents in chemistry, whereas sense 1 covers color more broadly.
3. relating specifically to the metallic element chromium (chemical symbol Cr) — us
relating specifically to the metallic element chromium (chemical symbol Cr) — used in chemical and industrial terms to name compounds that contain this element, regardless of what color those compounds may have
The textile factory used sodium chromate, a bright yellow powder, to give its cotton fabrics a lasting golden color.
example compound: chromate — salt containing chromium
Many kitchen faucets and car bumpers get their shiny, long-lasting finish from a thin layer of chromium metal.
everyday example: chromium plating on household items
Hyun learned that chromium is named after the Greek word for color because its compounds are brightly colored.
After new safety rules, the paint factory stopped using chromate pigments — the chromium was linked to worker health problems.
文法句型
chromo- + noun
用法筆記
This sense of "chromo-" appears primarily in industrial chemistry and materials-science contexts, such as when discussing chromium compounds used in metal plating, stainless-steel production, or environmental testing. Unlike the color or pigment senses, words formed with this prefix always refer to compounds that contain the element chromium (Cr).