A pigment or coloring substance in bile, possibly related to chlorophyll or green compounds.
From Greek 'chole' (bile) + 'phaios' (dusky) or possibly relating to 'pheo' (dusky). This term describes the greenish to brownish pigments in bile.
Despite the 'pheo' root suggesting dusky tones, cholophein can be greenish because fresh bile is actually green—it's only when it sits around and gets oxidized that it turns yellow and brown, which fascinated early color chemists!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.