The colourful world of Jazz (literally)

The popular root for “colour” comes from Greek “chrom-“. When Fourcroy and Haiiy stumbled upon a metallic element which made especially colourful compounds they decided to call it chromium. The metal was highly resistant, and was used for plating onto other metals. Ironically chromium plating made everything as far from chrome as is thinkable. This is also true for the browser wars. Google’s internet browser started off as “Chromium” before they decided to commit to the RGB and went with Chrome.

If you’re into jazz though, committing to RBG is your craft. You see when someone plays a note wrong, they deviate from the Diatonic scale. Some (read “LingLings”) may call it a wrong note, yes. To others, it’s adding a different “shade” and “hue” to the music and you have promptly found your way to the Chromatic Scale. 

Picture Credit: NextShark

 

Thus, anything that relates to colour is distinguished with the adjective “chromatic”. Study of colours is chromatology, and coloured photography is chromatography. Taking all we’ve come across so far we can also make a word for colour-blindness by combining Greek roots for “absence” (of), “colour” (from), “eyes” and add a noun-making suffix. We accordingly have “achromatopsia”.

Congratulations, we’ve made our first word which should be in the dictionary. If it’s not though, no worries. All words are made up.