euchromatic
|eu-chro-mat-ic|
🇺🇸
/juːkroʊˈmætɪk/
🇬🇧
/juːkrəˈmætɪk/
well-colored / open, transcriptionally active chromatin
Etymology
'euchromatic' originates from Greek, specifically the elements 'eu-' and 'chroma', where 'eu-' meant 'well' or 'good' and 'chroma' meant 'color'.
'euchromatic' developed from the noun 'euchromatin' (a term introduced in cytogenetics in the early 20th century), formed from Greek roots and later given the adjective suffix '-ic' to create the modern adjective 'euchromatic'.
Initially it referred to tissue or chromatin that stained well (was 'well-colored') under microscopes; over time the usage became specialized in biology to mean 'less condensed, transcriptionally active chromatin'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
relating to or characteristic of euchromatin: chromatin that is less condensed, stainable in certain ways, and generally associated with active transcription and gene-rich regions of the genome.
Euchromatic regions of the genome are often associated with active gene expression.
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Adjective 2
(Rare/archaic) Well-colored or having good color; readily taking up dye or pigment.
Under the stain the sample looked euchromatic, showing areas that took up the dye strongly.
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Last updated: 2025/12/05 18:30