lichen
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Latin līchēn (“ringworm”), from Ancient Greek λειχήν (leikhḗn).
Pronunciation[edit]
- enPR: lī'kən, IPA(key): /ˈlaɪ.kn̩/[1][2][3]
- (chiefly in the UK, also:) IPA(key): /ˈlɪtʃ.n̩/[1][2][3]
-
Audio (UK) (file) - Rhymes: -aɪkən, -ɪtʃən
- Homophone: liken
Noun[edit]
lichen (plural lichens)
- Any of many symbiotic organisms, being associations of fungi and algae; often found as white or yellow patches on old walls, etc.
- 1894 — Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book, Lukannon
- The Beaches of Lukannon–the winter wheat so tall–
The dripping, crinkled lichens, and the sea-fog drenching all!
- The Beaches of Lukannon–the winter wheat so tall–
- 1895 — H. G. Wells, The Time Machine, ch XI
- It was the same rich green that one sees on forest moss or on the lichen in caves: plants which like these grow in a perpetual twilight.
- 1915 — John Muir, Travels in Alaska, ch V
- The nibble marks of the stone adze were still visible, though crusted over with scale lichens in most places.
- 1894 — Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book, Lukannon
- (figuratively) Something which spreads across something else, causing damage.
- 1912, Zane Grey, Riders of the Purple Sage, Chapter 15
- Meanwhile, abiding a day of judgment, she fought ceaselessly to deny the bitter drops in her cup, to tear back the slow, the intangibly slow growth of a hot, corrosive lichen eating into her heart.
- 1912, Zane Grey, Riders of the Purple Sage, Chapter 15
Synonyms[edit]
- (something which spreads): cancer
Derived terms[edit]
Terms derived from lichen
Translations[edit]
symbiotic association of fungi and algae
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something which spreads across something else, causing damage — see cancer
See also[edit]
lichen on Wikipedia.Wikipedia- algae
- fungus
- Iceland moss
- moss
- reindeer moss
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 “lichen” in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Online.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 lichen in Cambridge English Dictionary
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 “lichen” (US) / “lichen” (UK) in Oxford Dictionaries, Oxford University Press.
French[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from Latin lichen, from Ancient Greek λειχήν (leikhḗn).
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
lichen m (plural lichens)
Derived terms[edit]
Anagrams[edit]
External links[edit]
- “lichen” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Categories:
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English terms with homophones
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Lichens
- French terms derived from Latin
- French terms derived from Ancient Greek
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio links
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French masculine nouns
- French countable nouns
- fr:Lichens
