lye

[lahy] Example Sentences Origin

lye

[lahy]
noun Chemistry.
1.
a highly concentrated, aqueous solution of potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide.
2.
any solution resulting from leaching, percolation, or the like.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English lie, ley, Old English lēag; cognate with Dutch loog, German Lauge lye, Old Norse laug warm bath. See lave1

lie, lye.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Lye is always a great word to know.
So is glacial. Does it mean:
pertaining to an aromatic compound, which contains one or more benzene or equivalent heterocyclic rings: many such compounds have an agreeable odor
of, pertaining to, or tending to develop into icelike crystals: glacial phosphoric acid
Example Sentences
  • It is combined with lye to make laundry detergent, and applied to wounds to speed healing.
  • He beat her with a stick and then washed out the boat with sake and lye so strong it bleached streaks of coloring from the wood.
  • Corn kernels can be soaked in lye to produce hominy.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
lye (laɪ)
 
n
1.  any solution obtained by leaching, such as the caustic solution obtained by leaching wood ash
2.  a concentrated solution of sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide
 
[Old English lēag; related to Middle Dutch lōghe, Old Norse laug bath, Latin lavāre to wash]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

lye
O.E. læg, leag, from P.Gmc. *laugo (cf. M.Du. loghe, Du. loog, O.H.G. louga, Ger. Lauge "lye"), from PIE root *lou- "to wash" (see lave). The substance was used in the old days in place of soap, hence O.H.G. luhhen "to wash," O.N. laug "hot bath, hot spring," Dan. lørdag,
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Swed. lördag "Saturday," lit. "washing-day." Chamber-lye in the Middle Ages was the name for urine used as a detergent.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
lye   (lī)  Pronunciation Key 
A strong alkaline solution or solid of potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide, made by allowing water to wash through wood ashes. It is used to make soap and drain and oven cleaners. Chemical formula: KOH or NaOH.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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