adj.
Pronunciation: ˌ k ō -l ə - ' ster-ik, k ə - ' les-t ə -rik
Function: adjective
Etymology: cholesteric relating to cholesterol, from French cholesterique
Date: 1942
: of, relating to, or being the phase of a liquid crystal characterized by arrangement of molecules in layers with the long molecular axes parallel to one another in the plane of each layer and incrementally displaced in successive layers to give helical stacking ― compare NEMATIC , SMECTIC