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lime

1 [lahym]

noun, verb, limed, lim⋅ing.

–noun

Also called burnt lime, calcium oxide, caustic lime, calx, quicklime. a white or grayish-white, odorless, lumpy, very slightly water-soluble solid, CaO, that when combined with water forms calcium hydroxide (slaked lime), obtained from calcium carbonate, limestone, or oyster shells: used chiefly in mortars, plasters, and cements, in bleaching powder, and in the manufacture of steel, paper, glass, and various chemicals of calcium.

2.	a calcium compound for improving crops grown in soils deficient in lime.

birdlime.

–verb (used with object)

4.	to treat (soil) with lime or compounds of calcium.

5.	to smear (twigs, branches, etc.) with birdlime.

6.	to catch with or as if with birdlime.

7.	to paint or cover (a surface) with a composition of lime and water; whitewash: The government buildings were freshly limed.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME, OE līm; c. D lijm, G Leim, ON līm glue, L līmus slime; akin to loam

Related forms:

limeless, adjective

limelike, adjective

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lime

2 [lahym]

–noun

1.	the small, greenish-yellow, acid fruit of a citrus tree, Citrus aurantifolia, allied to the lemon.

2.	the tree that bears this fruit.

3.	greenish yellow.

–adjective

4.	of the color lime.

5.	of or made with limes.

Origin:
1615–25; < Sp lima < Ar līmah, līm citrus fruit < Pers līmū(n); cf. lemon

Related forms:

limeless, adjective

limelike, adjective

lime

3 [lahym]

–noun

the European linden, Tilia europaea.

Origin:
1615–25; unexplained var. of obs. line, lind, ME, OE lind. See linden

lime

4 [lahym]

–noun Informal.

limelight.

Origin:
shortened form

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To lime

calcium oxide
n. A white, caustic, lumpy powder, CaO, used as a refractory, as a flux, in manufacturing steel and paper, in glassmaking, in waste treatment, in insecticides, and as an industrial alkali. Also called lime³.

lime¹ (līm)

A spiny evergreen shrub or tree (Citrus aurantifolia), native to Asia and having leathery leaves, fragrant white flowers, and edible fruit.
The egg-shaped fruit of this plant, having a green rind and acid juice used as flavoring.

[Probably French from Spanish lima, from Arabic līma, līm, probably from līmūn, lemon; see lemon.]

lime² (līm)

n. See linden.

[Alteration of Middle English lind, line, from Old English lind.]

lime³ (līm)

1. See calcium oxide.
2. Any of various mineral and industrial forms of calcium oxide differing chiefly in water content and percentage of constituents such as silica, alumina, and iron. Also called quicklime.
Birdlime.

tr.v. limed, lim·ing, limes

To treat with lime.
To smear with birdlime.
To catch or snare with or as if with birdlime.

[Middle English lim, from Old English līm, birdlime; see lei- in Indo-European roots.]
lim'y adj.

lin·den (lĭn'dən)

n. Any of various deciduous shade trees of the genus Tilia having heart-shaped leaves, drooping cymose clusters of yellowish, often fragrant flowers, and peduncles united into a large lingulate bract. Also called basswood, lime².

[Middle English, made of linden wood, from Old English, from lind, linden.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Lime

Lime\ (l[imac]m), n. [See Leam a string.] A thong by which a dog is led; a leash. --Halliwell.

Lime

Lime\, n. [Formerly line, for earlier lind. See Linden.] (Bot.) The linden tree. See Linden.

Lime

Lime\, n. [F. lime; of Persian origin. See Lemon.] (Bot.) A fruit allied to the lemon, but much smaller; also, the tree which bears it. There are two kinds; Citrus Medica, var. acida which is intensely sour, and the sweet lime (C. Medica, var. Limetta) which is only slightly sour.

Lime

Lime\, n. [AS. l[=i]m; akin to D. lijm, G. leim, OHG. l[=i]m, Icel. l[=i]m, Sw. lim, Dan. liim, L. limus mud, linere to smear, and E. loam. [root]126. Cf. Loam, Liniment.]

1. Birdlime.

Like the lime That foolish birds are caught with. --Wordsworth.

2. (Chem.) Oxide of calcium; the white or gray, caustic substance, usually called quicklime, obtained by calcining limestone or shells, the heat driving off carbon dioxide and leaving lime. It develops great heat when treated with water, forming slacked lime, and is an essential ingredient of cement, plastering, mortar, etc.

Note: Lime is the principal constituent of limestone, marble, chalk, bones, shells, etc.

Caustic lime, calcium hydrate or slacked lime; also, in a less technical sense, calcium oxide or quicklime.

Lime burner, one who burns limestone, shells, etc., to make lime.

Lime light. See Calcium light, under Calcium.

Lime pit, a limestone quarry.

Lime rod, Lime twig, a twig smeared with birdlime; hence, that which catches; a snare. --Chaucer.

Lime

Lime\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Limed (l[imac]md); p. pr. & vb. n. Liming.] [Cf. AS. gel[=i]man to glue or join together. See Lime a viscous substance.]

1. To smear with a viscous substance, as birdlime.

These twigs, in time, will come to be limed. --L'Estrange.

2. To entangle; to insnare.

We had limed ourselves With open eyes, and we must take the chance. --Tennyson.

3. To treat with lime, or oxide or hydrate of calcium; to manure with lime; as, to lime hides for removing the hair; to lime sails in order to whiten them.

Land may be improved by draining, marling, and liming. --Sir J. Child.

4. To cement. "Who gave his blood to lime the stones together." --Shak.

Language Translation for : lime

Spanish: cal,

German: der Kalk,

Japanese: 石灰

More Translations »

lime (1)

"chalky mineral used in making mortar," from O.E. lim "sticky substance, birdlime, mortar," from P.Gmc. *leimaz (cf. O.N. lim, Du. lijm, Ger. Leim), from PIE base *(s)lei- "slime, slimy, sticky" (cf. L. limus "slime, mud, mire," linere "to smear;" O.E. slim "slime;" Skt. linati "adheres to, slips into, disappears;" Gk. alinein "to anoint, besmear;" O.Ir. leinam "I follow," lit. "I stick to"). Lime is made by putting limestone or shells in a red heat, which burns off the carbonic acid and leaves a brittle white solid which dissolves easily in water. Birdlime is a viscous sticky stuff prepared from holly bark and used to catch small birds. Limestone is first attested 1523.

lime (2)

"type of citrus fruit," 1638, from Sp. lima, from Arabic limah "citrus fruit," a back-formation or a collective noun from limun "lemon" (see lemon).

lime (3)

"linden tree," 1625, from M.E. lynde, from O.E. lind (see linden). The change of -n- to -m- probably began in compounds whose second element began in a labial (e.g. line-bark, line-bast).

Main Entry: ¹lime
Pronunciation: 'lIm
Function: noun
: a caustic powdery white highly infusible solid that consists of calcium oxide oftentogether with magnesiacalled also quicklime; —see LIMEWATER —lime adjective

Main Entry: ²lime
Function: noun
: the small globose greenish yellow fruit of a spiny tropical tree of the genus Citrus (C. aurantifolia) withelliptic oblong narrowly winged leaves that has an acid juicy pulp used as a flavoring agent and as a source of vitamin C

lime ¹ (līm)
n.

A spiny evergreen shrub or tree (Citrus aurantifolia) native to Asia and having leathery leaves, fragrant white flowers, and edible fruit.
The egg-shaped fruit of this plant, having a green rind and acid juice used as flavoring.

lime ²
n.

Any of various mineral and industrial forms of calcium oxide differing chiefly in water content and percentage of constituents such as silica, alumina, and iron.
See calcium oxide.

lime (līm) Pronunciation Key
A white, lumpy, caustic powder made of calcium oxide sometimes mixed with other chemicals. It is made industrially by heating limestone, bones, or shells. Lime is used as an industrial alkali, in waste treatment, and in making glass, paper, steel, insecticides, and building plaster. It is also added to soil to lower its acidity.

Lime

The Hebrew word so rendered means "boiling" or "effervescing." From Isa. 33:12 it appears that lime was made in a kiln lighted by thorn-bushes. In Amos 2:1 it is recorded that the king of Moab "burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime." The same Hebrew word is used in Deut. 27:2-4, and is there rendered "plaster." Limestone is the chief constituent of the mountains of Syria.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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LIME
laser induced microwave emissions

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