Chromatid

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkɹəʊmətɪd/

Definitions

1. An individual strand of a duplicated chromosome that plays a vital role in cell division processes
2. A half of a chromosome that remains connected to its identical counterpart at the centromere during the stages of mitosis or meiosis
3. A structural component of a chromosome, this element remains linked to its sister part at the centromere throughout cell division phases

Etymology: Chromatid is a plain technical coinage, and its history is almost entirely a matter of its two parts. The first is Greek "khrōma", meaning "colour", which gave English words such as "chromatic" and "chromium". The second is the suffix "-id", which English uses in scientific terms for a particle or unit, as in "nucleid" and "lipid". Put together, a chromatid is named for its tendency to take up dye: when biologists stained cells to study them under the microscope, the threadlike bodies that appeared in dividing nuclei showed up as coloured strands. A chromatid is one of the two identical copies of a chromosome that are joined at the centromere during cell division, and the term was formed from these Greek parts in English rather than inherited from ancient times. The Greek word itself was used for colour or paint long before anyone looked at a cell, so the link to staining is a modern discovery given an old name.

Synonyms: chromosome