Meanings
plural chromatophores
- A pigment-bearing cell or structure found in certain fish, reptiles, cephalopods, and other animals.
Cuttlefish skin contains chromatophores that enable it to change colour.
1 more example
Nonverbal cultural behaviors also could indicate Zeta consciousness, such as mourning the dead, religious activities, or even turning different colors in situations that correlate with emotional challenges, as chromatophores do on Earth. Such behaviors could indicate that it feels like something to be a Zeta.
2019, Susan Schneider, Artificial You: AI and the Future of Your Mind, Princeton University Press, page 53
Origin
From chromato- (“color”) + -phore (“bearer”).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan cromatòfor
- cromatòforpigment-bearing cell or structure
Chinese Mandarin 色素細胞 /色素细胞
- 色素細胞 /色素细胞 (sè sù xì bāo)pigment-bearing cell or structure
Esperanto kromatoforo
- kromatoforopigment-bearing cell or structure
French chromatophore
- chromatophorepigment-bearing cell or structure
Hebrew כרומטופור
- כרומטופור (kromatofor)pigment-bearing cell or structure
Italian cromatoforo
- cromatoforopigment-bearing cell or structure
Japanese 色素胞
- 色素胞 (shikisohou)pigment-bearing cell or structure
Portuguese cromatóforo
- cromatóforopigment-bearing cell or structure
Russian хроматофор
- хроматофор (xromatofor)pigment-bearing cell or structure
Spanish cromatóforo
- cromatóforopigment-bearing cell or structure
Vietnamese tế bào sắc tố
- tế bào sắc tốpigment-bearing cell or structure
Cite this entry
chromatophore. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chromatophore
“chromatophore.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chromatophore. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chromatophore,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chromatophore.
Source: chromatophore on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.