Link Centre Dictionary

litmus

lit·mus

UK/ˈlɪtməs/ US/ˈlɪtmʌs/ uncommon

noun

1.

a coloring material (obtained from lichens) that turns red in acid solutions and blue in alkaline solutions; used as a very rough acid-base indicator

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English litmose, lytmose, litemose, from Old Norse litmosi (“moss used for dyeing”), from lita (“to dye, stain”) + mosi (“moss”), the former from litr (“colour, dye, blee”), from Proto-Germanic *wlitiz, *wlituz (“appearance, blee”), from Proto-Indo-European *wel- (“to see”). Cognate with Old English wlite (“appearance, form, brightness, countenance”). More at moss.

Phrases

  • Lecanora tartarea
  • litmus milk
  • litmus paper
  • litmus test
  • Roccella fuciformis
  • Roccella phycopsis
  • Roccella pygmaea
  • Roccella tinctoria

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.