Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
chromosome [kroh-muh-sohm] ExamplesWord Origin noun Genetics.
- any of several threadlike bodies, consisting of chromatin, that carry the genes in a linear order: the human species has 23 pairs, designated 1 to 22 in order of decreasing size and X and Y for the female and male sex chromosomes respectively.
Origin of chromosome First recorded in 1885–90; chromo- + -some3 Related formschro·mo·so·mal, adjectivechro·mo·so·mal·ly, adverbin·ter·chro·mo·so·mal, adjectivein·ter·chro·mo·so·mal·ly, adverbnon·chro·mo·so·mal, adjective Related Words for chromosomes heredity, RNA, gene, chromosome Examples from the Web for chromosomes Contemporary Examples of chromosomes
Telomeres are the tips at the ends of our chromosomes that protect our DNA.
The New Science of Reverse Aging
Danielle Friedman
November 7, 2010
Historical Examples of chromosomes
The number of chromosomes in the human cell is said to be forty-eight.
The Ethics of Medical Homicide and Mutilation
Austin O’Malley
A daughter-nucleus is reconstructed in each cell from the chromosomes.
The Ethics of Medical Homicide and Mutilation
Austin O’Malley
That means that there is a determiner for it which is grouped with other determiners in one of the chromosomes.
Ernest G. Martin
We now know that these chromosomes are the actual controllers of heredity.
Ernest G. Martin
Every cell in our bodies has its nucleus with its equipment of chromosomes.
Ernest G. Martin
British Dictionary definitions for chromosomes chromosome noun
- any of the microscopic rod-shaped structures that appear in a cell nucleus during cell division, consisting of nucleoprotein arranged into units (genes) that are responsible for the transmission of hereditary characteristicsSee also homologous chromosomes
Derived Formschromosomal, adjectivechromosomally, adverb Word Origin and History for chromosomes chromosome n.
1889, from German Chromosom, coined 1888 by German anatomist Wilhelm von Waldeyer-Hartz (1836-1921), from Latinized form of Greek khroma “color” (see chroma) + -some (3)). So called because the structures contain a substance that stains readily with basic dyes.
chromosomes in Medicine chromosome [krō′mə-sōm′] n.
- A threadlike linear strand of DNA and associated proteins in the nucleus of animal and plant cells that carries the genes and functions in the transmission of hereditary information.
- A circular strand of DNA in bacteria and cyanobacteria that contains the hereditary information necessary for cell life.
Related formschro′mo•so′mal (-sō′məl) null adj. chromosomes in Science chromosome [krō′mə-sōm′]
- A structure in all living cells that consists of a single molecule of DNA bonded to various proteins and that carries the genes determining heredity. In all eukaryotic cells, the chromosomes occur as threadlike strands in the nucleus. During cell reproduction, these strands coil up and condense into much thicker structures that are easily viewed under a microscope. Chromosomes occur in pairs in all of the cells of eukaryotes except the reproductive cells, which have one of each chromosome, and some red blood cells (such as those of mammals) that expel their nuclei. In bacterial cells and other prokaryotes, which have no nucleus, the chromosome is a circular strand of DNA located in the cytoplasm.
chromosomes in Culture chromosomes [(kroh-muh-sohmz)]
The small bodies in the nucleus of a cell that carry the chemical “instructions” for reproduction of the cell. They consist of strands of DNA wrapped in a double helix around a core of proteins. Each species of plant or animal has a characteristic number of chromosomes. For human beings, for example, it is forty-six.
Note In humans, sex is determined by two chromosomes: an X-chromosome, which is female, and a Y-chromosome, which is male. (See sex chromosomes.)