n.
A water-soluble blue powder derived from certain lichens that changes to red with increasing acidity and to blue with increasing basicity.
[Middle English litemose (of Scandinavian origin, akin to Old Norse litmosi, dyer's herbs : litr, color, dye + mosi, bog, moss) and Middle English lykemose (from Middle Dutch lijkmoes , variant of lēcmoes : lēken, to drip + moes, moss).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
