auxochromous
|aux-o-chro-mous|
🇺🇸
/ˌɔksoʊˈkroʊməs/
🇬🇧
/ˌɔːksəˈkrəʊməs/
color-enhancing (modifier)
Etymology
'auxochromous' originates from modern scientific coinage built from Greek elements: 'auxo-' from Greek 'auxein' meaning 'to increase' and 'chroma' meaning 'color'.
'auxochromous' developed via the noun 'auxochrome' (formed in 19th-century chemical literature by combining 'auxo-' + 'chroma') and then used as the adjective 'auxochromous' in English technical contexts.
Initially formed to mean 'increasing or modifying color'; over time it has become a technical term in chemistry meaning 'bearing or relating to an auxochrome that alters a chromophore's absorption properties.'
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
relating to or possessing an auxochrome — a substituent group that, when attached to a chromophore, modifies the wavelength or intensity of light absorption (commonly increases color intensity or shifts absorption maxima).
Auxochromous groups such as −OH and −NH2 can shift a dye's absorption maximum and intensify its color.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/11/30 06:18