English
chlorella
Chlorella comes from Latin chlōrus ‘pale’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃- ‘green, yellow’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰelh₃-‘green, yellow’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰl̥h₃rósreconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kʰlōrós‘greenish-yellow, pale green’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEχλωρόςkhlōrós‘pale green’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEchlōrus‘pale’
- New Latinc. 1500–1900chlorella
- mul-taxmodernChlorella
- Englishearliest quotation 2002chlorella
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰelh₃-‘green, yellow’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰl̥h₃rósreconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kʰlōrós‘greenish-yellow, pale green’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEχλωρόςkhlōrós‘pale green’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEchlōrus‘pale’
- New Latinc. 1500–1900chlorella
- mul-taxmodernChlorella
- Englishearliest quotation 2002chlorella
Earliest quotation: 2002, Paul Pitchford, North Atlantic Books: “Many people use chlorella for a nutrient factor isolated…”
The story
A use as a common noun of the genus name taxonomic name Chlorella, from New Latin chlorella, from chlōrus + -ella (‘diminutive’), from Ancient Greek χλωρός (khlōrós, “pale green”).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃- ‘green, yellow’
gold, fell, yellow, cholera, gall, yolk, gullible, felon, glib, gild, choline, zloty, 29 more
Today it means
noun Any single-celled green alga, of the genus Chlorella, found especially in stagnant water; now produced commercially as a food supplement.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃- / chlorella