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achromatic - 6 dictionary results

ach⋅ro⋅mat⋅ic

  [ak-ruh-mat-ik, ey-kruh-]
Use achromatic in a Sentence
–adjective
1. Optics.
a. free from color.
b. able to emit, transmit, or receive light without separating it into colors.
2. Biology. (of a cell structure) difficult to stain.
3. Music. without accidentals or changes in key.
Origin:
1760–70; a- 6 + chromatic

Related forms:
ach⋅ro⋅mat⋅i⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ach·ro·mat·ic   (āk'rə-māt'ĭk)   
adj.  
  1. Designating color perceived to have zero saturation and therefore no hue, such as neutral grays, white, or black.
  2. Refracting light without spectral color separation.
  3. Biology Difficult to stain with standard dyes. Used in reference to cells or tissues.
  4. Music Having only the diatonic tones of the scale.

[From Greek akhrōmatos : a-, without; see a-1 + khrōma, khrōmat-, color.]
ach'ro·mat'i·cal·ly adv., a·chro'ma·tism (ā-krō'mə-tĭz'əm), a·chro'ma·tic'i·ty (-tĭs'ĭ-tē) n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Achromatic

Ach`ro*mat"ic\, a. [Gr. ? colorless; 'a priv. + ?, ?, color: cf. F. achromatique.]

1. (Opt.) Free from color; transmitting light without decomposing it into its primary colors.

2. (Biol.) Uncolored; not absorbing color from a fluid; -- said of tissue.

Achromatic lens (Opt.), a lens composed usually of two separate lenses, a convex and concave, of substances having different refractive and dispersive powers, as crown and flint glass, with the curvatures so adjusted that the chromatic aberration produced by the one is corrected by other, and light emerges from the compound lens undecomposed.

Achromatic prism. See Prism.

Achromatic telescope, or microscope, one in which the chromatic aberration is corrected, usually by means of a compound or achromatic object glass, and which gives images free from extraneous color.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Main Entry: ach·ro·mat·ic
Pronunciation: "ak-r&-'mat-ik
Function: adjective
1 : refracting light without dispersing it intoits constituent colors : giving images practically free from extraneous colors achromatic telescope>
2 : not readily colored by the usual staining agents
3 : possessing or involving no hue : being or involving only black, gray, or white <achromatic visual sensations> <achromatic light stimuli> —ach·ro·mat·i·cal·ly /-i-k(&-)lE/ adverb
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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achromatic ach·ro·mat·ic (āk'rə-māt'ĭk)
adj.

  1. Of or relating to color perceived to have zero saturation and therefore no hue, such as neutral grays, white, or black.
  2. Refracting light without spectral color separation.
  3. Of or relating to cells or tissues difficult to stain with standard dyes.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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achromatic   (āk'rə-māt'ĭk)  Pronunciation Key 
Designating color perceived to have zero saturation and therefore no hue, such as neutral grays, white, or black.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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