Adjacent Words

Lime definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

LIME, n. [L. limus; Gr. and allied to clammy. On this word is formed slime.]
1. A viscous substance, sometimes laid on twigs for catching birds.
2. Calcarious earth, oxyd of calcium, procured from chalk and certain stones and shells, by expelling from them the carbonic acid, by means of a strong heat in a furnace. The best lime for mortar or cement is obtained from limestone, or carbonate of lime, of which marble is a fine species.
3. The linden tree.
4. [See Lemon.] A species of acid fruit, smaller than the lemon.
LIME, v.t.
1. To smear with a viscous substance.
2. To entangle; to ensnare.
3. To manure with lime.
Land may be improved by draining, marling and liming.
4. To cement.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a caustic substance produced by heating limestone [syn: calcium hydroxide, lime, slaked lime, hydrated lime, calcium hydrate, caustic lime, lime hydrate]
2: a white crystalline oxide used in the production of calcium hydroxide [syn: calcium oxide, quicklime, lime, calx, calcined lime, fluxing lime, unslaked lime, burnt lime]
3: a sticky adhesive that is smeared on small branches to capture small birds [syn: birdlime, lime]
4: any of various related trees bearing limes [syn: lime, lime tree, Citrus aurantifolia]
5: any of various deciduous trees of the genus Tilia with heart- shaped leaves and drooping cymose clusters of yellowish often fragrant flowers; several yield valuable timber [syn: linden, linden tree, basswood, lime, lime tree]
6: the green acidic fruit of any of various lime trees v
1: spread birdlime on branches to catch birds [syn: birdlime, lime]
2: cover with lime so as to induce growth; "lime the lawn"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English l?m; akin to Old High German l?m birdlime, Latin limus mud, slime, and perhaps to Latin linere to smear Date: before 12th century 1. birdlime 2. a. a caustic highly infusible solid that consists of calcium oxide often together with magnesium oxide, that is obtained by calcining forms of calcium carbonate (as shells or limestone), and that is used in building (as in mortar and plaster) and in agriculture — called also quicklime b. a dry white powder consisting essentially of calcium hydroxide that is made by treating quicklime with water c. calcium <carbonate of lime> II. transitive verb (limed; liming) Date: 13th century 1. to smear with a sticky substance (as birdlime) 2. to entangle with or as if with birdlime 3. to treat or cover with lime <lime the lawn in the spring> III. adjective Date: 15th century of, relating to, or containing lime or limestone IV. noun Etymology: alteration of Middle English lind, from Old English; akin to Old High German linta linden Date: 1625 a linden tree; especially linden 1a V. noun Etymology: Middle French, from Spanish lima, from Arabic l?ma, l?m Date: 1583 1. the small globose yellowish green fruit of a widely cultivated spiny tropical Asian citrus tree (Citrus aurantifolia) with a usually acid juicy pulp used as a flavoring agent and as a source of vitamin C 2. a tree that bears limes

Britannica Concise

Small shrublike tree (Citrus aurantifolia) widely grown in tropical and subtropical areas, and its edible acid fruits. Stiff branches and twigs leave the thorny stem at irregular intervals, and end in green leaves. Clusters of small white flowers produce small oval fruits with a thin, pale greenish-yellow rind. The juicy pulp is more acidic and sweet than that of the lemon. Limes are used to flavor many foods. High in vitamin C, they were formerly used in the British Navy to prevent scurvy; hence the nickname "Limey" for British sailors. Inorganic compound, white or grayish lumps, chemical formula CaO, made by roasting limestone (calcium carbonate, CaCO3) until all the carbon dioxide (CO2) is driven off. One of the four most important basic chemical commodities, it is used as a refractory, as a flux in steel manufacture, as a CO2 absorbent, to remove sulfur dioxide from stack gases, to neutralize various acids, in pulp and paper, in insecticides and fungicides, in poultry feeds, for dehairing of hides, in sugar refining, in sewage treatment, and in the manufacture of glass, calcium carbide, and sodium carbonate. Adding water to lime yields calcium hydroxide (slaked lime, calcium hydrate, hydrated lime, or caustic lime), which has uses in mortar, plasters, cements, whitewash, hide dehairing, ammonia recovery, water softening, sugar purification, petrochemicals, poultry feeds, and foods and as a soil conditioner, disinfectant, accelerator in rubber compounds, and source of other calcium salts. Small shrublike tree (Citrus aurantifolia) widely grown in tropical and subtropical areas, and its edible acid fruits. Stiff branches and twigs leave the thorny stem at irregular intervals, and end in green leaves. Clusters of small white flowers produce small oval fruits with a thin, pale greenish-yellow rind. The juicy pulp is more acidic and sweet than that of the lemon. Limes are used to flavor many foods. High in vitamin C, they were formerly used in the British Navy to prevent scurvy; hence the nickname "Limey" for British sailors. Inorganic compound, white or grayish lumps, chemical formula CaO, made by roasting limestone (calcium carbonate, CaCO3) until all the carbon dioxide (CO2) is driven off. One of the four most important basic chemical commodities, it is used as a refractory, as a flux in steel manufacture, as a CO2 absorbent, to remove sulfur dioxide from stack gases, to neutralize various acids, in pulp and paper, in insecticides and fungicides, in poultry feeds, for dehairing of hides, in sugar refining, in sewage treatment, and in the manufacture of glass, calcium carbide, and sodium carbonate. Adding water to lime yields calcium hydroxide (slaked lime, calcium hydrate, hydrated lime, or caustic lime), which has uses in mortar, plasters, cements, whitewash, hide dehairing, ammonia recovery, water softening, sugar purification, petrochemicals, poultry feeds, and foods and as a soil conditioner, disinfectant, accelerator in rubber compounds, and source of other calcium salts.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. & v. --n. 1 (in full quicklime) a white caustic alkaline substance (calcium oxide) obtained by heating limestone and used for making mortar or as a fertilizer or bleach etc. 2 = BIRDLIME. --v.tr. 1 treat (wood, skins, land, etc.) with lime. 2 archaic catch (a bird etc.) with birdlime. Phrases and idioms: lime water an aqueous solution of calcium hydroxide used esp. to detect the presence of carbon dioxide. Derivatives: limeless adj. limy adj. (limier, limiest). Etymology: OE lim f. Gmc, rel. to LOAM 2. n. 1 a a round citrus fruit like a lemon but greener, smaller, and more acid. b the tree, Citrus aurantifolia, bearing this. 2 (in full lime-juice) the juice of limes as a drink and formerly esp. as a cure for scurvy. 3 (in full lime-green) a pale green colour like a lime. Etymology: F f. mod.Prov. limo, Sp. lima f. Arab. lima: cf. LEMON 3. n. 1 (in full lime-tree) any ornamental tree of the genus Tilia, esp. T. europaea with heart-shaped leaves and fragrant yellow blossom. Also called LINDEN. 2 the wood of this. Etymology: alt. of line = OE lind = LINDEN

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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,

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(limes) 1. A lime is a green fruit that tastes like a lemon. Limes grow on trees in tropical countries. ...peeled slices of lime... Add a few drops of lime juice. N-VAR 2. A lime is a large tree with pale green leaves. It is often planted in parks in towns and cities. ...dilapidated avenues of limes. N-COUNT 3. Lime is a substance containing calcium. It is found in soil and water. If your soil is very acid, add lime. • Lime is also a combining form. ...lime-rich sand. ...old lime-stained baths. COMB in ADJ

Easton's Bible Dictionary

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.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

lim

(1) sidh; compare Arabic shad, "to plaster";

(2) gir; compare Arabic jir, "gypsum" or "quick-lime";

(3) 'abene-ghir):

Sidh is translated "lime" in Isa 33:12, "And the peoples shall be as the burnings of lime, as thorns cut down, that are burned in the fire," and in Am 2:1, "He burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime." It is translated "plaster" in De 27:2, "Thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster," also in De 27:4. Gir is translated "plaster" in Da 5:5, "wrote .... upon the plaster of the wall." In Isa 27:9 we have, "He maketh all the stones of the altar as chalkstones" ('abhene-ghir).

Everywhere in Palestine limestone is at hand which can be converted into lime. The lime-kiln is a thick-walled, cylindrical or conical, roofless structure built of rough stones without mortar, the spaces between the stones being plastered with clay. It is usually built on the side of a hill which is slightly excavated for it, so that the sloping, external wall of the kiln rises much higher from the ground on the lower side than on the upper. The builders leave a passage or tunnel through the base of the thick wall on the lower side. The whole interior is filled with carefully packed fragments of limestone, and large piles of thorny-burner and other shrubs to serve as fuel are gathered about the kiln. The fuel is introduced through the tunnel to the base of the limestone in the kiln, and as the fire rises through the mass of broken limestone a strong draft is created. Relays of men are kept busy supplying fuel day and night. By day a column of black smoke rises from the kiln, and at night the flames may be seen bursting from the top. Several days are required to reduce the stone to lime, the amount of time depending upon the size of the kiln and upon the nature of the fuel. At the present day, mineral coal imported from Europe is sometimes employed, and requires much less time than the shrubs which are ordinarily used.

See CHALKSTONE; CLAY.

Alfred Ely Day

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Quicklime, protoxide of calcium. 2. Linden, lime-tree. 3. Lime-fruit tree (Citrus limetta). 4. Lime-fruit.

Moby Thesaurus

acid, acidulant, allure, bait, bait the hook, birdlime, bola, bread-and-butter pickle, burden, catch, catch out, chokecherry, cobweb, crab apple, cramp, cripple, cumber, decoy, dill pickle, dragnet, embarrass, encumber, enmesh, ensnare, ensnarl, entangle, entoil, entrammel, entrap, entwine, enweb, fetter, fishhook, fly, gill net, gin, green apple, ground bait, hamper, hamstring, handicap, hobble, hook, hook in, impede, inveigle, involve, jig, lame, lariat, lasso, lemon, lumber, lure, mesh, meshes, net, noose, pickle, plug, pound net, press down, purse seine, saddle with, seine, shackle, snare, snarl, sniggle, sour, sour balls, sour cream, sour grapes, sour pickle, sourdough, spinner, spread the toils, springe, squid, tangle, toil, toils, trammel, trap, trawl, trip, verjuice, vinegar, weigh down, wind, wobbler, yogurt