etiolate

[ee-tee-uh-leyt]

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verb (used with object), e·ti·o·lat·ed, e·ti·o·lat·ing.

to cause (a plant) to whiten or grow pale by excluding light: to etiolate celery.

to cause to become weakened or sickly; drain of color or vigor.

verb (used without object), e·ti·o·lat·ed, e·ti·o·lat·ing.

(of plants) to whiten or grow pale through lack of light.

Origin of etiolate

1785–95; < French étioler to make pale, etiolate (plants), probably derivative, based on N French dial. forms, of standard French éteule, Old French estoble, estuble stubble; see -ate¹

Related formse·ti·o·la·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for etiolate

Historical Examples of etiolate

I can not believe that, to produce one roseate complexion, she must etiolate a thousand.
The Book of Khalid
Ameen Rihani

British Dictionary definitions for etiolate

etiolate

verb

botany to whiten (a green plant) through lack of sunlight

to become or cause to become pale and weak, as from malnutrition

Derived Formsetiolation, noun

Word Origin for etiolate

C18: from French étioler to make pale, probably from Old French estuble straw, from Latin stipula

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for etiolate

of plants, "grown in darkness," 1791, from French étiolé, past participle of étioler "to blanch" (17c.), perhaps literally "to become like straw," from Norman dialect étule "a stalk," Old French esteule "straw, field of stubble," from Latin stipula "straw." Related: Etiolated.

Science definitions for etiolate

etiolation

[ē′tē-ə-lā′shən]

A pathological condition of plants that grow in places that provide insufficient light, as under stones. It is characterized by elongated stems and pale color due to lack of chlorophyll.

Related formsetiolate verb