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etiolate

 - 3 dictionary results

e⋅ti⋅o⋅late

  [ee-tee-uh-leyt] verb, -lat⋅ed, -lat⋅ing.
Use etiolate in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to cause (a plant) to whiten or grow pale by excluding light: to etiolate celery.
2. to cause to become weakened or sickly; drain of color or vigor.
–verb (used without object)
3. (of plants) to whiten or grow pale through lack of light.
Origin:
1785–95; < F étioler to make pale, etiolate (plants), prob. deriv., based on N French dial. forms, of standard F éteule, OF estoble, estuble stubble; see -ate 1

Related forms:
e⋅ti⋅o⋅la⋅tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To etiolate
e·ti·o·late   (ē'tē-ə-lāt')   
v.   e·ti·o·lat·ed, e·ti·o·lat·ing, e·ti·o·lates

v.   tr.

  1. Botany To cause (a plant) to develop without chlorophyll by preventing exposure to sunlight.

    1. To cause to appear pale and sickly: a face that was etiolated from years in prison.

    2. To make weak by stunting the growth or development of.

v.   intr. Botany
To become blanched or whitened, as when grown without sunlight.

[French étioler, from Norman French étieuler, to grow into haulm, from éteule, stalk, from Old French esteule, from Vulgar Latin *stupula, from Latin stipula.]
e'ti·o·la'tion n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: eti·o·late
Pronunciation: 'Et-E-&-"lAt
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: -lat·ed; -lat·ing
: to make pale and sickly —eti·o·la·tion /"Et-E-&-'lA-sh&n/ noun
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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