Skip to main content
chlorosis

chlorosis

9.9
A blood condition in which the body has too little iron, causing weakness and greenish skin
  • noun
  • /klɔːˈroʊsɪs/
  • Archaic
translation icon : clorosis
  • Many young women suffer from chlorosis due to insufficient iron in their diet.

Examples

  • Chlorosis can lead to weakness and a greenish tint to the skin in those affected with chlorosis.

  • And like you can see right here, they've got chlorosis, which means they're iron deficient.

  • What iron was good for, Gilbert said, was chlorosis.

    Academic text (1991)
  • The doctor diagnosed her with chlorosis after noticing her symptoms of fatigue and skin discoloration.

Synonyms

greensickness
vschlorosis
  • Archaic
9.9

An old word for a blood condition in young women that causes weakness, pale or green skin, and irregular periods

is the current medical term replacing the older name
sideropenia
vschlorosis
  • Specialized
9.9

A lack of iron in the body that makes you feel very tired

is a specific iron deficiency anemia mainly affecting young women with clear symptoms

Antonyms

1.0

The condition of a person's body and mind, especially being free from illness or injury

How Pale

pallor
6 8.3
chlorosis
  • Archaic
9.9

Surface Forms

chlorosis singular
chloroses plural

Morphology

chlorosis = chlor (opaque) = chlor + osis

The suffix 'osis' indicates a medical condition, but the specific condition of 'chlorosis' is not transparently derived from 'chlor'.

Etymology

Chlorosis comes from the Greek word chloros meaning 'green' and the ending -osis meaning 'condition'. In the 1800s doctors called a kind of anemia a 'green condition' because patients often had a pale greenish skin, so the name points to that symptom.