chromatography
/ˌkɹəʊ.məˈtɒɡɹə.fi/ noun
Forms chromatographies chromography
- noun (analytical chemistry) Any of various techniques for the qualitative or quantitative separation of the components of mixtures of compounds; all characterized by the use of a mobile phase (gas or liquid) moving relative to a stationary phase (liquid or solid) – the differences between the rates of migration of the compounds between the two phases affect the separation.
Etymology
Back-formation from chromatographic, borrowed from German chromatographisch (see there for more); by surface analysis, chromato- + -graphy. The technique is so named because it was developed primarily for the separation of the plant pigments, which would separate in bands of different "colors" (chromato-) .
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [Gr. -graphy.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “chromatography”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details