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chlorophyll
8 dictionary results for: chlorophyll
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
chlo·ro·phyll 
[klawr-uh-fil, klohr-] Pronunciation Key
[klawr-uh-fil, klohr-] Pronunciation Key –noun Botany, Biochemistry.
| the green coloring matter of leaves and plants, essential to the production of carbohydrates by photosynthesis, and occurring in a bluish-black form, C55H72MgN4O5 (chlorophyll a), and a dark-green form, C55H70MgN4O6 (chlorophyll b). |
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| chlo·ro·phyll also chlo·ro·phyl
(klôr'ə-fĭl, klōr'-) Pronunciation Key
n. Any of a group of green pigments that are found in the chloroplasts of plants and in other photosynthetic organisms such as cyanobacteria, especially: a. A waxy blue-black microcrystalline green-plant pigment, C55H72MgN4O5, with a characteristic blue-green alcohol solution. Also called chlorophyll a.
chlo'ro·phyl'lous adj. |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
chlorophyll
chlorophyll
1819, from Fr. chlorophyle (1818), coined by Fr. chemists Pierre-Joseph Pelletier (1788-1842) and Joseph Bienaimé Caventou (1795-1877) from Gk. khloros "pale green" (see Chloe) + phyllon "a leaf."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| chlorophyll | |
noun | |
| any of a group of green pigments found in photosynthetic organisms; there are four naturally occurring forms |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| chlorophyll
(klôr'ə-fĭl) Pronunciation Key
Any of several green pigments found in photosynthetic organisms, such as plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. At its molecular core, chlorophyll has a porphyrin structure but contains a magnesium atom at its center and a long carbon side chain. Chlorophyll absorbs red and blue wavelengths of light, but reflects green. When it absorbs light energy, a chlorophyll molecule enters a higher energy state in which it easily gives up an electron to the first available electron-accepting molecule nearby. This electron moves through a chain of acceptors and is ultimately used in the synthesis of ATP, which provides chemical energy for plant metabolism. Plants rely on two forms of chlorophyll, chlorophyll a (C66H72MgN4O5) and chlorophyll b (C66H70MgN4O6), which have slightly different light absorbing properties. All plants, algae, and cyanobacteria have chlorophyll a, since only this compound can pass an electron to acceptors in oxygen-producing photosynthetic reactions. Chlorophyll b absorbs light energy that is then transferred to chlorophyll a. Several protist groups such as brown algae and diatoms lack chlorophyll b but have another pigment, chlorophyll c, instead. Other closely related pigments are used by various bacteria in photosynthetic reactions that do not produce oxygen. See more at photosynthesis.
Our Living Language : From its name, one might think that chlorophyll has chlorine in it, but it doesn't. The chloro- of chlorophyll comes from the Greek word for "green"; chlorophyll in fact is the chemical compound that gives green plants their characteristic color. The name of the chemical element chlorine comes from the same root as the prefix chloro-, and is so called because it is a greenish-colored gas. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
chlorophyll [(klawr-uh-fil)]
chlorophyll [(klawr-uh-fil)]
The complex chemical that gives a plant its green color and plays an important role in the conversion of sunlight into energy for the plant. (See photosynthesis.)
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
chlorophyll chlo·ro·phyll or chlo·ro·phyl (klôr'ə-fĭl)
n.
Any of a group of related green pigments found in photosynthetic cells that converts light energy into ATP and other forms of energy needed for biochemical processes; it is found in green plants, brown and red algae, and certain aerobic and anaerobic bacteria.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Chlorophyll
Chlo"ro*phyll\, n. [Gr. ? light green + ? leaf: cf. F. chlorophylle.] (Bot.) Literally, leaf green; a green granular matter formed in the cells of the leaves (and other parts exposed to light) of plants, to which they owe their green color, and through which all ordinary assimilation of plant food takes place. Similar chlorophyll granules have been found in the tissues of the lower animals. [Written also chlorophyl.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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