pallor (n.)

c. 1400, pallour, "paleness, dullness," from Old French palor "paleness, whiteness" (12c.) and directly from Latin pallor, from pallere "be pale, turn pale," related to pallus "dark-colored, dusky," from PIE root *pel- (1) "pale."

[P]aleness in the Mediterranean is not so much the lack of color as a sickly, yellowish, sallow complexion, compared here to the hue of a gilded bronze statue. Sappho compared it to the color of dead grass. [Daniel H. Garrison, note on pallidor in poem 81 in "The Student's Catullus, 2nd ed., 1995]

also from c. 1400

Entries linking to pallor

pallid (adj.)

"lacking color, pale, wan," 1580s, from Latin pallidus "pale, colorless," from root of pallere "be pale" (from PIE root *pel- (1) "pale"). A doublet of pale (adj.), and compare pallor. Related: Pallidly; pallidness.

*pel- (1)

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "pale."

It forms all or part of: appall; falcon; fallow (adj.) "pale yellow, brownish yellow;" Fauvist; Lloyd; pale (adj.); pallid; pallor; palomino; Peloponnesus; polio; poliomyelitis.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit palitah "gray," panduh "whitish, pale;" Greek pelios "livid, dark;" polios "gray" (of hair, wolves, waves); Latin pallere "to be pale," pallidus "pale, pallid, wan, colorless;" Old Church Slavonic plavu, Lithuanian palvas "sallow;" Welsh llwyd "gray;" Old English fealo, fealu "dull-colored, yellow, brown." It also forms the root of words for "pigeon" in Greek (peleia), Latin (palumbes), and Old Prussian (poalis).

Trends of pallor

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/. Ngrams are probably unreliable.

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complexion

mid-14c., complexioun, "temperament, natural disposition of body or mind," from Old French complexion, complession "combination of humors," hence "temperament, character, make-up," from Latin complexionem (nominative complexio) "combination" (in Late Latin, "physical constitution

triage

1727, "action of assorting according to quality," from French triage "a picking out, sorting" (14c.), from Old French trier "to pick, cull" (see try (v.)). There seems to be some influence from or convergence with Latin tria "three" (as in triage for "coffee beans of the third or

perpetual

mid-14c., perpetuel, "everlasting, unceasing, existing indefinitely, continuing forever in future time;" late 14c., "uninterrupted, continuous," from Old French perpetuel "without end" (12c.) and directly from Latin perpetualis "universal," in Medieval Latin "permanent," from per

deserve

mid-13c., "to merit, be worthy of for qualities or actions," from Old French deservir (Modern French desservir) "deserve, be worthy of, earn, merit" and directly from Latin deservire "serve well, serve zealously," from de- "completely" (see de-) + servire "to serve" (see serve (v

traffic

c. 1500, "trade, commerce," from French trafique (15c.), from Italian traffico (14c.), from trafficare "carry on trade," of uncertain origin, perhaps from a Vulgar Latin *transfricare "to rub across," from Latin trans "across" (see trans-) + fricare "to rub" (see friction),

iris

late 14c. as the name of a flowering plant (Iris germanica); early 15c. in reference to the eye membrane, from Latin iris (plural irides) "iris of the eye; iris plant; rainbow," from Greek iris (genitive iridos) "a rainbow;" also "iris plant" and "iris of the eye," a word of unce

countenance

mid-13c., contenaunce, "behavior, bearing, conduct, manners;" early 14c., "outward appearance, looks," from Old French contenance "demeanor, bearing, conduct," from Latin continentia "restraint, abstemiousness, moderation," literally "way one contains oneself," from continentem,

pledge

mid-14c., plegge, "surety, bail," from Old French plege (Modern French pleige) "hostage, security, bail," also Anglo-Latin plegium, both probably from Frankish *plegan "to guarantee," from *pleg-, a West Germanic root meaning "have responsibility for" (source also of Old Saxon pl

heuristic

"serving to discover or find out," 1821, irregular formation from Greek heuriskein "to find; find out, discover; devise, invent; get, gain, procure" (from PIE *were- (2) "to find;" cognate with Old Irish fuar "I have found") + -istic. As a noun, from 1860. Greek had heuretikos "i

sacrifice

late 13c., "the offering of something (especially a life) to a deity as an act of propitiation, homage, etc.;" mid-14c., "that which is offered (to a deity) in sacrifice," from Old French sacrifise "sacrifice, offering" (12c.), from Latin sacrificium, from sacrificus "performing

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updated on December 23, 2019

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Dictionary entries near pallor

palliard

palliate

palliative

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pallor

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palmar

palmer

palmetto

palmistry