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Added 9 October 2026

lime

/laɪm/ noun

In Latin: calx Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about lime at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A caustic substance produced by heating limestone.
A white crystalline oxide used in the production of calcium hydroxide.
A sticky adhesive that is smeared on small branches to capture small birds.

verb

Spread birdlime on branches to catch birds.
Cover with lime so as to induce growth.
lime the lawn

Origin

From Middle English lyme, lym, lime, from Old English līm, from Proto-West Germanic *līm, from Proto-Germanic *līmaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂leyH- (“to smear”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Liem (“glue”), Dutch lijm (“glue”), German Leim (“glue”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish lim (“glue”), Faroese and Icelandic lím (“glue”), Latin limus (“mud”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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