To make something pale or sickly-looking, usually describing plants that turn pale and weak when grown without sunlight.
From French étioler (to blanch), possibly from Old French étiole. Originally described what happens when plants are deprived of light.
Etiolate comes straight from gardening—if you've seen a houseplant that's pale, stretched out, and droopy from being in a corner, that's etiolation in action, and it's what botanists call the plant's desperate attempt to find light.
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