etiolate
[ee-tee-uh-leyt]
- 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.
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- (of plants) to whiten or grow pale through lack of light.
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Origin of etiolate
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for etiolate
Historical Examples
I can not believe that, to produce one roseate complexion, she must etiolate a thousand.
The Book of KhalidAmeen Rihani
etiolate
- botany to whiten (a green plant) through lack of sunlight
- to become or cause to become pale and weak, as from malnutrition
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Word Origin
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
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Word Origin and History for etiolate
v.
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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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