English Explanatory Dictionary

lichen

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Any of many symbiotic organisms, being associations of algae and fungi, often found as white or yellow-to-blue–green patches on rocks, old walls, etc.
  2. Something which gradually spreads across something else, causing damage.
verb
  1. To cover with lichen.

Pronunciation

lī'kən /ˈlaɪ.kən/ lĭ'chən /ˈlɪtʃ.ən/ en-uk-lichen.ogg

Word forms

lichen lichens lichening lichened

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin līchēn, from Ancient Greek λειχήν (leikhḗn), from λείχω (leíkhō, “to lick”). Originally used of liverwort; the modern sense first recorded 1715.

Synonyms

cancer

Related words

algae fungus Iceland moss moss reindeer moss

Derived words

antilichen antler lichen ascolichen ball lichen basidolichen beard lichen blister lichen borderline lichen British soldiers lichen byssoid lichen cephalolichen chlorolichen cobblestone lichen comma lichen coral lichen corticolous lichen cracked lichen crustose lichen crustose placodioid lichen cup lichen cyanolichen discolichen dog lichen dust lichen earth lichen edible lichen endolithic lichen epiphyllous lichen equine tropical lichen filamentous lichen firedot lichen foliose lichen fruticose lichen gelatinous lichen globe lichen glyphis lichen gold lichen goldspeck lichen horsehair lichen horsetail lichen Iceland lichen jelly lichen jewel lichen leaf lichen lecanorine lichen leprose lichen letter lichen lichenaceous lichenal lichenase lichened lichenic lichenicolous lichenification licheniform lichenify lichenin lichenisation lichenism lichenist
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on L Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary