noun.
A linear strand of DNA and associated proteins in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells that carries the genes and functions in the transmission of hereditary information.
noun.
A circular strand of DNA in bacteria and archaea that contains the hereditary information necessary for cell life.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
noun.
In cytology, one of the definite segments or pieces of chromatin of the cell-nucleus.
the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
noun.
One of the minute bodies into which the chromatin of the nucleus is resolved during mitotic cell division; the idant of Weismann.