monochrome

/ˈmɒnəkˌɹəʊm/MO-nuh-krohm

/ˈmɑnəkˌɹoʊm/MAH-nuh-krohm

Meaningone colour

Common meaning: in one colour

monoalone, singleLiddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. 977 · scan
chromcolour, skinLiddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), p. 897 · scan

‘alone, single’ + ‘colour, skin’ → monochrome

Journey through time

Neither part’s path through time is traced in our sources yet; each root is shown from its dictionary entry.

mono — Greek μόνος “alone, single” (dictionary form; path not traced)
chrom — Greek χρῶμα “colour, skin” (dictionary form; path not traced)

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Greek μόνος ‘alone, single’ + Greek χρῶμα ‘colour, skin’.

Did you know (Greek monos, "alone,…): our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), entry μόνος, p. 977 · dictionary scan

Did you know (Greek chroma, colour,…): our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), entry χρῶμα, p. 897 · dictionary scan

Roots

μόνος Greek “alone, single”
χρῶμα Greek “colour, skin”

Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app