Chrome

[krohm] /kroʊm/

noun
1.
.
2.
chromium-plated or other bright metallic trim, as on an automobile.
3.
(of dyeing) the dichromate of potassium or sodium.
4.
Photography. a positive color transparency; kodachrome.
verb (used with object), chromed, chroming.
5.
(of dyeing) to subject to a bath of dichromate of potassium or sodium.
6.
to plate (metal) with a compound of .
7.
to treat or tan (a hide or leather) with a compound.
1.
variant of as the final element of a compound word:
polychrome.
/krəʊm/
noun
1.

2.
anything plated with chromium, such as fittings on a car body
3.
a pigment or dye that contains chromium
verb
4.
to plate or be plated with chromium, usually by electroplating
5.
to treat or be treated with a chromium compound, as in dyeing or tanning
combining form, combining form
1.
colour, coloured, or pigment: monochrome
n.

1800, “chromium,” from French chrome, the name proposed by Fourcroy and Haüy for a new element, from Greek khroma “color” (see chroma); so called because it makes colorful compounds. The name was given to the metallic element now known as chromium (which had been isolated 1798 by French chemist Nicolas-Louis Vauquelin); it continued in commercial use in English for “chrome steel” (steel with 2 percent or so chrome) after the chemical name was changed internationally. As a short form of chromium plating it dates from 1937. Related: Chromic.

chrome (krōm)
n.
Chromium, especially as a source of pigment.

jargon
(From automotive slang via wargaming) Showy features added to attract users but contributing little or nothing to the power of a system.
“The 3D icons in Motif are just chrome, but they certainly are *pretty* chrome!”
Chrome is distinguished from bells and whistles by the fact that the latter are usually added to gratify developers’ own desires for featurefulness. Often used as a term of contempt and sometimes used in conjunction with ‘fluff’, “all the fluff and chrome that comes with Motif”.
[Jargon File]
(1997-09-19)