Pronounced: LEEF, adv/adj
Notes: I have run across this word, but I could not properly define it
Yesterday’s word
The word etiolate means
- to make pale
- to deprive of natural vigor; make feeble
First usage
Our word first came into English in the late 1700s
Background / Comments
Our word came from the French word étioler — it was originally used to depriving growing celery of light. The French word came from the Old French word for “straw”, which is related to the Latin word stipula (straw; stalk). In our times, the concept of growing vegetables as pale as straw is usually “blanch” — our word tends to be an undesirable deprivation of light so that they look sickly, pale and spindly. Not too long after our word appeared, the second (more figurative) usage showed up.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 