ˈkrōməˌsōm noun
( -s )
Etymology: International Scientific Vocabulary chrom- + -some; originally formed as German chromosom
: one of the more or less rodlike chromatin-containing basophilic bodies constituting the genome and chiefly detectable in the mitotic or meiotic nucleus that are regarded as the seat of the genes, consist of one or more intimately associated chromatids functioning as a unit, and are relatively constant in number in the cells of any one kind of plant or animal — see sex
• chro·mo·so·mic | ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷|sōmik adjective