What does chlorotic mean?
Chlorotic describes the unhealthy paleness or yellowing that appears when living tissue — most often plant leaves — lacks sufficient chlorophyll. A leaf may turn chlorotic because the soil is deficient in iron, nitrogen, or magnesium, because disease or root damage is preventing nutrient uptake, or because poor drainage has waterlogged the roots. Gardeners and agronomists use the word constantly: a chlorotic lawn, chlorotic citrus trees, or interveinal chlorosis are all diagnostic clues to what a plant needs. The term derives from the Greek chloros, meaning pale green, the same root that gave us chlorine, chlorophyll, and chloroplast. In nineteenth-century medicine, 'chlorotic' was also applied to young women with iron-deficiency anaemia whose skin took on a pale, faintly greenish tint — a condition once romantically dubbed 'green sickness'. Today that usage survives mainly in historical texts, while the botanical sense remains firmly current in scientific and gardening literature.
Affected by, relating to, or characterized by chlorosis; abnormally pale or yellowish-green, especially of plant foliage lacking adequate chlorophyll.
"The nursery treated the chlorotic seedlings with a chelated iron supplement."
Standard technical vocabulary in botany, horticulture, and plant pathology.
(Historical, medicine) Of or relating to chlorosis, the formerly diagnosed anaemic condition marked by a pale or greenish complexion, especially in adolescent women.
"Victorian casebooks frequently recorded chlorotic girls complaining of fatigue and breathlessness."
Largely obsolete in modern clinical practice.
Before doctors understood iron deficiency, they named the pale, weary look of anaemic young women 'the virgin disease' — and its tell-tale pallor was literally called 'green sickness', sharing a Greek root with chlorine.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of chlorotic
Chlorotic derives from the Greek chloros, meaning 'pale green' or 'yellowish-green'. The adjective entered English in the seventeenth century via New Latin chlorōsis, the medical term for the anaemic condition known as 'green sickness'. Its Greek root also produced the modern scientific terms chlorine, chlorophyll, and chloroplast, making chlorotic part of a large family of chemistry and biology words built on the same ancient colour word.
Related word forms
How chlorotic is actually used
Primarily a technical term used in botany, horticulture, and agricultural science; the medical sense is now largely historical, having been superseded by modern descriptions of iron-deficiency anaemia.
Easily confused with chlorotic
'Chlorotic' means pale or yellowed (especially foliage lacking chlorophyll), while 'chronic' means persisting for a long time.