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, estublestubble; see -ate1
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.
Botany To cause (a plant) to develop without chlorophyll by preventing exposure to sunlight.
To cause to appear pale and sickly: a face that was etiolated from years in prison.
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.
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