Etymograph

English

chlorella

Chlorella comes from Latin chlōrus ‘pale’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃- ‘green, yellow’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰelh₃-1‘green, yellow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰl̥h₃rós1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kʰlōrós1‘greenish-yellow, pale green’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEχλωρός2khlōrós‘pale green’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEchlōrus2‘pale’
  6. New Latinc. 1500–1900chlorella2
  7. mul-taxmodernChlorella2
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2002chlorella2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek χλωρός
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English chlorella
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2002, Paul Pitchford, North Atlantic Books: “Many people use chlorella for a nutrient factor isolated…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰelh₃-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek χλωρός‘green, yellow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰl̥h₃rósWiktionary, Ancient Greek χλωρόςreconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kʰlōrósWiktionary, Ancient Greek χλωρός‘greenish-yellow, pale green’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEχλωρόςWiktionary, English chlorellakhlōrós‘pale green’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEchlōrusWiktionary, English chlorella‘pale’
  6. New Latinc. 1500–1900chlorellaWiktionary, English chlorella
  7. mul-taxmodernChlorellaWiktionary, English chlorella
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2002chlorellaWiktionary, English chlorella. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 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”).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃- ‘green, yellow’

gold, fell, yellow, cholera, gall, yolk, gullible, felon, glib, gild, choline, zloty, 28 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.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “chlorella”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek χλωρός. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃- / chlorella

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