▪ I. lime, n.1
(laɪm)
Forms: 1 l{iacu}m, 1, 3 liim, 3, 7 lim, 3–7 lym, 3–8 lyme, (4 liym), 3– lime.
[OE. l{iacu}m str. masc. = MDu. lîm masc. (mod.Du. lijm fem.), OHG. lîm (MHG. lîm, mod.G. leim) masc., ON. l{iacu}m neut.:—OTeut. *lîmo- = L. līmus mud, f. WAryan root *lī̆- in L. li-nĕre to smear; another grade of the root occurs in loam, lair n.2]
1. a. A viscous sticky substance prepared from the bark of the holly and used for catching small birds; = birdlime. Now only poet. (In OE. any adhesive substance, e.g. glue, paste.)
| a 700 Epinal Gloss. 133 Bitumen, lim. a 1000 ælfric Colloq. in Wr.-Wülcker 95 Ic beswice fuᵹelas hwilon mid neton mid grinum mid lime. c 1000 ― Gram. (Z.) 258 Swaswa lim ᵹefæstnað fel to sumum brede. a 1250 O. & N. 1056 (Jesus MS.) Þe louerd..Lym [Cott. liim] and grune.. Sette and leyde þe for to lacche. a 1300 Cursor M. 29082 Mani man..perist was als fuxl in lime. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 305/1 Lyme, to take wythe byrdys, viscus. 1565–6 Churchw. Acc. St. Martin's, Leicester (1866) 166 For Lyme to catche y⊇ sterlyngs in y⊇ churche, vij{supd}. a 1600 Montgomerie Misc. P. xxi. 34, I fand My fethers in the lyme. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 211 Toils for Beasts, and Lime for Birds were found. 1697 Phil. Trans. XIX. 377 The Bark [of Holly] begins to be full of Lime. a 1850 Wordsw. (W.), Like the lime That foolish birds are caught with. |
b. in allusive phrases (
cf. lime v.
1 2, 3).
| 13.. K. Alis. 419 Heo bylevith in folie So in the lym doth the flye. 1477 Norton Ord. Alch. v. in Ashm. (1652) 83 For Fier with Erth hath most concord of all; Because that siccitie is the lyme of heate. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iii. ii. 68 You must lay lime to tangle her desires By walefull Sonnets. 1592 Lodge Euphues Shadow (1882) 20 Philamour that was first caught in the lime, was most of all tormented in his loue. 1604 Earl Stirling Paraenesis to Pr. Henry xxviii, While fancies are not glu'de with pleasures lime. 1610 Shakes. Temp. iv. i. 246 Monster, come put some Lime vpon your fingers, and away with the rest. |
2. Usually coupled with
stone: Mortar or cement used in building. In
quot. a 1225
fig. Now
Sc.| c 725 Corpus Gloss. C 320 Cementum: liim, lapidum. a 1100 Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 314/23 Cementum, lim to wealle. c 1200 Ormin 16284 Þatt draȝhenn swerd wass inn an hannd, & lim & stan inn oþerr. c 1205 Lay. 15818 Ich habbe lim & stan on leode nis betere nan. a 1225 Ancr. R. 226 So ueste ilimed mid lim of ancre luue euerichon of on to oðer. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2552 Ðo sette sundri hem to waken His tiȝel and lim, and walles maken. a 1300 Cursor M. 25468 Castel mad o lime and stane. c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. II. 209 Þe churche is taken..for þe hous of liym and stoon, þat conteyneþ sich men. a 1400–50 Alexander 5088 Þar was a cite in þat side asisid all with gemmes, With-outen lyme or laire. c 1470 Henry Wallace xi. 680 Mudwall werk with⁓outyn lym or stayn. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, iii. iii. 26 King Richard lyes Within the limits of yond Lime and Stone. 1745 Sir J. Ware Wks. conc. Irel. I. 127 Those slender round Towers of Lime and Stone, which are seen spread through divers Parts of the Country. 1786 Burns Twa Brigs 101 Your ruin'd, formless bulk o' stane and lime. 1827 Tennant Papistry Storm'd i. 25 Throu' the thick stane and the lime, He slippit like a beam throu' glass. Mod. Sc. A stane-an'-lime wa' is better nor a dry-stane dyke. |
3. a. The alkaline earth which is the chief constituent of mortar; calcium oxide (CaO). It is obtained by submitting limestone (carbonate of lime) to a red heat, by which the carbonic acid is driven off, leaving a brittle white solid, which is pure lime (or quick-lime). It is powerfully caustic and combines readily with water, evolving great heat in the process, and forming hydrate of lime (
slaked lime).
The designations
carbonate,
phosphate etc. of lime are still current in popular use, though in technical language they have given place to the more systematic terms
calcium carbonate (or
carbonate of calcium), etc.
chloride of lime: see
chloride 2.
| a 1000 Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 197/16 Calcis uiua, ᵹebærnd lim. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvi. xxiii. (1495) 560 Whyle lyme is colde in handlyng it conteyneth preuely wythin fyre and grete hete. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 122 Caste aboue þe wounde þe poudre of lym tofore seid. c 1450 ME. Med. Bk. (Heinrich) 217 Tak arpment, & slekyd lyme, & argoyle. 1535 Coverdale Isa. xxxiii. 11 The people shal be burnt like lyme. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. iv. 137 You Rogue, heere's Lime in this Sacke too. 1622 R. Hawkins Voy. S. Sea xliii. 103 Since the Spanish Sacks haue beene common in our Tauernes, which (for conservation) is mingled with Lyme in its making, our Nation complaineth of Calenturas, of the Stone [etc.]. 1622 Bacon Hen. VII, 137 They were now (like Sand without Lyme), ill bound together. 1787 Winter Syst. Husb. 32 Lime, when properly and judiciously applied, ranks first amongst the class of manures. 1816 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 488 Lime is detected most effectually by the oxalic acid, which..forms with it an insoluble precipitate. 1837 Whittock, etc. Bk. Trades (1842) 130 Lime is found in chalk, marble, &c., and is the basis of animal bones. 1839 Penny Cycl. XIII. 489/1 Phosphate of lime has been recommended in rickets. |
† b. = lime-wash.
Obs.| ? 1593 Rites of Durham (Lawson MS. 1656) xxxix, Which pictures have been washed over w{supt}{suph} Lime, and yet do appear through the Lime. |
c. lime and hair: a kind of plasterer's cement to which hair is added to bind the mixture closely together. Also
attrib.| 1626 Vestry Bks. (Surtees) 181 For lyme and haire for lymeinge the wyndowes, viijd. 1663 Gerbier Counsel 46 Lime and Haire Birdcage-like-Buildings. 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 640 Cements..used by plasterers for inside work. The first is called lime and hair, or coarse stuff. |
† d. oil of lime [F.
huile de chaux]: an old name for the so-called ‘chloride of lime’ in a state of deliquescence.
| 1471 Ripley Comp. Alch. Adm. vii. in Ashm. (1652) 191 Oyle of Lime [printed Lune] and water. 1742 Phil. Trans. XLII. 76. 1800 tr. Lagrange's Chem. I. 275. |
e. A vat containing a solution of lime for removing the hair from skins; the solution itself.
| 1885 C. T. Davis Manuf. Leather xxxii. 525 When sufficiently softened the skins are next placed in the ‘limes’... The goat-skins remain in the ‘limes’ about 14 days. 1903 L. A. Flemming Pract. Tanning 6 When vat room is scarce, it is good practice to haul the skins out after they have been in the lime a few days. 1946 J. W. Waterer Leather ii. ii. 137 The practice of passing the ‘packs’ of hides..through a series of liquors, commencing with an old or ‘mellow’ lime. 1969 T. C. Thorstensen Pract. Leather Technol. vi. 87 When the hide is introduced into the lime. |
† 4. a. The
calx of metals.
b. Used generically for: An alkaline earth.
Obs.| 1707 Curios. in Husb. & Gard. 225 Metals, after they are reduc'd into Lime. 1796 Kirwan Elem. Min. (ed. 2) I. 5 When this [aerial, i.e. carbonic] acid is expelled, the earth..is then called lime, or common or calcareous lime, to distinguish it from other earths, which also form limes, when free from all combinations, viz. the Barytic and Scottish earths. |
5. a. attrib. and
Comb., as
lime-basket,
lime-burn,
lime-burning,
lime-cask,
† lime-coop (
dial.),
lime-crag,
† lime-fat,
lime-grout,
lime-hater (so
lime-hating adj.),
lime-keeve,
lime-lover (so
lime-loving adj.),
lime-maker,
lime-man,
lime-merchant,
lime-mortar,
lime-ooze,
lime-process,
† lime quarrel,
lime quarrier,
lime quarry,
lime-salt,
lime-scow,
lime-scuttle;
lime-daubed,
lime-dressed,
lime-free,
lime-like adjs.;
lime-ash dial., a composition of ashes and lime used as a rough kind of flooring for kitchens, etc.;
lime-ball (light), limelight;
† lime-bush, a bush dressed with birdlime; hence, a means of entanglement;
lime-cartridge (see
quot.);
lime-cast, a covering or layer of lime mortar; also
attrib.;
† lime-chalk, quicklime;
lime-coal (see
quot.);
† lime-core, unslakable lumps in quick-lime;
lime-cylinder, a cylinder of lime used in the production of limelight;
lime-liniment (see
quot.);
lime-liquid, liquid grout of lime;
lime-marl (see
quot.);
lime-milk, milk of lime, slaked lime diffused in water;
lime ointment, an ointment consisting of slaked lime, lard, and olive oil (
Syd. Soc. Lex. 1888);
lime-phial Antiq., a phial filled with quicklime, fixed at the end of an arrow, used in mediæval warfare for the purpose of blinding the enemy (Hewitt
Anc. Armour III. 759,
Index;
cf. Strutt
Horda Angelcynnan I. 98);
lime-putty, (
a) (see
quot.); (
b)
= lime-slab;
lime-rock, limestone (? now
N. Amer.);
lime-rubbish, broken mortar from old walls, etc., used as a dressing for land;
lime-shells, burnt lime before it is slaked;
lime-silicate a. Petrol., applied to a rock which was originally an impure limestone or dolomite and has been thermally metamorphosed, with the result that the lime has combined with silica present as impurities to form calcium silicates;
lime-sink, a rounded depression in the earth found in limestone districts;
lime-slab, a pasty smooth composition of slaked lime and water used in plastering;
lime soap, a mixture of insoluble calcium salts of fatty acids formed as a precipitate when soap is used in hard water and manufactured for various industrial purposes;
lime-soda attrib., applied to a process for softening water by treatment with lime and sodium carbonate;
lime-sour = grey sour, see
grey a. 8 (
Cent. Dict.);
lime-sulphur, an insecticide and fungicide containing calcium polysulphides which is made by boiling lime and sulphur in water;
lime-wash n., a mixture of lime and water, used for coating walls, etc.;
v., to whitewash with such a mixture;
lime-white,
-whiten vbs., to lime-wash;
lime-work,
† (
a) stucco (
quot. 1589); (
b) a place where lime is made (also
pl.);
† lime-yard = lime-twig. Also
lime-burner,
lime-fingered a.,
lime-kiln,
limelight n.,
lime-pit,
lime-pot,
lime-rod,
limestone,
lime-twig,
lime-water,
lime-wort1, etc.
| 1813 Vancouver Agric. Devon 96 The *lime ash-floor..costs 6d. in the square yard, tempering and laying down. 1893 Quiller-Couch Delect. Duchy 195 Their clothes dripping pools of water on the sanded lime-ash. |
| 1830 Drummond in Phil. Trans. CXX. 391 The intensity of the *lime⁓ball being therefore 264 times that of the Argand lamp. 1835 Edin. Rev. LXI. 238 The lime-ball light of Lieutenant Drummond. |
| 1838 Dickens O. Twist xviii, Mr. Chitling wished he might be busted if he warn't as dry as a *lime-basket. |
| 1879 St. George's Hosp. Rep. IX. 538 The 2 *lime-burns occurred in plasterers. |
| 1860 J. S. C. Abbott South & North 196 [Slaves] employed..in *lime-burning or fishing. |
| 1577 Fenton Gold. Epist. 91 No other things are the riches of the worlde, but..a stumbling blocke for the wicked, a *limebush for the good. a 1640 Day Peregr. Schol. (1881) 53 Like a fishe in a net or a selie bird in a limebushe. |
| 1883 Gresley Gloss. Coal-mining, *Lime cartridge, a charge or measured quantity of compressed dry caustic lime made up into a cartridge, and used instead of gunpowder and in a somewhat similar manner for breaking down coal. |
| 1865 Mrs. Stowe House & Home Papers 94 Seating himself on a *lime-cask which the plasterers had left. |
| 1861 Neale Notes Dalmatia, etc. 96 Here, much hidden by *lime-cast, I made out the inscription. 1873 E. O'Curry Manners Anc. Irish III. 16 Many lofty lime-cast castles, built of limestone. |
| 1637 Heywood Dial., Anna & Phillis Wks. 1874 VI. 320 Water doth make the *lime-chalk scortch with heat. |
| 1883 Gresley Gloss. Coal-mining, *Lime coal, small coal suitable for lime burning. |
| 1674–91 Ray Collect. Words 38 Coop, as, a muck-coop, a *lime-coop; a cart, or wain, made close with boards, to carry anything that otherwise would fall out. |
| 1679 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 128 Good dry Earth, *Lime-Core, Rubbish, &c. |
| 1649 Burgh. Rec. Glasgow (1881) II. 177 Anent the coall and *lymecraig it is ordourit [etc.]. |
| 1871 tr. Schellen's Spectr. Anal. ix. 64 Let the *lime-cylinders then be raised to incandescence by means of the oxyhydrogen gas. |
| 1861 W. F. Collier Hist. Eng. Lit. 105 As sorry makeshifts for scenery as the *lime-daubed tinker who acted Wall. |
| 1899 J. W. Mackail Life W. Morris I. 279 The English *lime⁓dressed vellum had been found almost useless for fine work. |
| 1494 Act 11 Hen. VII, c. 19 Cussions, stuffed with horse here [etc.], which is wrought in *lyme fattes. |
| 1935 A. G. L. Hellyer Pract. Gardening iii. 34 It is wise to make enquiry when ordering rock plants and shrubs as to whether any of those supplied are likely to require *lime-free soil. 1974 Country Life 28 Nov. 1639/1 V[iburnum] furcatum.. needs a lime-free soil. |
| 1875 R. R. Brash Eccl. Archit. Ireland 8 The interior of the walls is filled with small stones and *lime-grout. |
| 1907 R. J. Farrer My Rock-Garden x. 148 The plant [sc. Cenisia excisa]..is a real *lime-hater. 1935 A. G. L. Hellyer Pract. Gardening xv. 112 The best plan is to set aside a portion of the rock-garden for lime-haters. |
| Ibid. 284/1 (index) *Lime hating plants. 1971 Country Life 18 Feb. 368/1 For some reason, many of the lime-hating shrubs have only white flowers. |
| 1574 in Worth Tavistock Par. Acc. (1887) 30 For mending of the *lyme Keve, vjd. |
| 1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters I. 141 A salt taste, with something *lime-like or lixivial. |
| 1876 Harley Mat. Med. (ed. 6) 173 *Lime Liniment is an emulsion of calcareous soap and free oil. |
| 1776 G. Semple Building in Water 78 Filling..the inside with small Stones, and *Lime-liquid. |
| 1907 R. J. Farrer My Rock-Garden i. 12 At this point I will not embark on the awful question of *lime-lovers and peat-lovers. 1971 Mrs. D. Underwood Grey & Silver Plants iv. 35 The root fibres of the lime-lovers will wrap themselves round individual [limestone] chippings. |
| 1916 Nature 2 Nov. 172/2 It seems probable from the evidence now before us that some of Forrest's newly discovered Chinese rhododendrons..must be reckoned as *lime-loving species. 1956 McClintock & Fitter Collins' Pocket Guide Wild Flowers 306 Limestone Polypody..is the lime-loving counterpart of the Oak Fern. 1974 Country Life 28 Nov. 1660/1 Used mushroom compost..is greatly appreciated by lime-loving cherries. |
| 1573 Baret Alv. L 441 A *limemaker, calcarius. 1723 Lond. Gaz. No. 6128/3 Edward Brent, Lime-maker. |
| 1839 Ure Dict. Arts, etc. 772 This true limestone must not be confounded with the *lime-marl, composed of calcareous matter and clay. |
| 1703 T. N. City & C. Purchaser 208 Many *Lime-men, (and some of those Bricklayers that are in Fee with 'em) may speak against this Practice. |
| 1710 Lond. Gaz. No. 4789/4 William Ball,..*Lyme-Merchant. |
| 1703 T. S. Art's Improv. i. 10 Whiten it Three or Four times together with *Lime-Milk. |
| 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 275 Smeared over with common *lime mortar. |
| 1867 J. N. Edwards Shelby xxix. 498 He..disappeared for a moment beneath *lime ooze, half tanned hides and the smell of a charnel house. |
| 1883 Gresley Gloss. Coal-mining, *Lime process, the method of getting coal by the use of the lime cartridge. 1888 Syd. Soc. Lex., Lime process of sewage purification. |
| 1892 Labour Commission Gloss., *Lime-putty, ordinary lime run through a fine sieve. |
| 1641 Sc. Acts Chas. I (1870) V. 452/1 To haue and win Lymestones in the *lyme quarrells, pairtis and boundis of the Toune and Landis of Paistoun [etc.]. |
| 1753 Scots Mag. XV. 52/1 John Potty, a *lime-quarrier. |
| a 1649 Drummond of Hawthornden Consid. to Parlt. Wks. (1711) 187 That coal-pits, *lime-quarries, within fourty foots of the king's high-ways, be filled up. 1882 Ouida Maremma I. 34 The lime quarries of Alberese. |
| 1665 in Early Rec. Providence (Rhode Island) (1893) III. 66 Those *Lime Rocks about Hackletons lime Killne shal be perpetually Common. 1799 J. Robertson Agric. Perth 547 A dry sharp soil to work upon mostly covering lime rock. 1969 Islander (Victoria, B.C.) 22 June 7/1 He had to tow empty scows from the cement works to Tod Inlet and back with full scows of limerock for making cement. |
| 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 270 *Lime rubbish from the pulling down of old houses. 1884 Sutton Cult. Veget. & Fl. (1885) 88 Old gardens should be refreshed with a dressing of lime occasionally, or of lime rubbish from old buildings. |
| 1849 D. Campbell Inorg. Chem. 71 A salt of this acid gives, in *lime salts, a semi-solid precipitate. |
| 1823 J. F. Cooper Pioneer xxiii. (1869) 99/2 Did'ee ever see a ship, man? or any craft bigger than a *lime-scow, or a wood-boat, on this here small bit of fresh water? |
| 1865 F. Martin Life J. Clare 62 He sat down upon his *lime⁓scuttle. |
| 1793 Statist. Acc. Scot. VI. 202 To strong land they give from 40 to 70 bolls of *lime shells to the Scotch acre. |
| 1888 J. J. H. Teall Brit. Petrogr. 464/2 *Lime-silicate hornfels. 1902 A. Harker Petrol. (ed. 3) xx. 306 The carbonic acid is completely eliminated, and the whole converted into a lime-silicate-rock (the German ‘Kalksilikathornfels’ or ‘Kalkhornfels’). 1965 G. J. Williams Econ. Geol. N.Z. x. 153/1 Lime-silicate dyke rocks in the ultramafic rocks of southern Westland. |
| 1837 J. L. Williams Territory of Florida 9 Ponds and *lime sinks are numerous between the..rivers. 1845 Lyell Trav. N. Amer. I. 176 Lime-sinks or funnel-shaped cavities, are frequent in this country arising from natural tunnels and cavities in the subjacent limestone. |
| 1608–9 in Swayne Churchw. Acc. Sarum (1896) 305 Barrowefull *lyme slabb 6d. |
| 1857 W. A. Miller Elem. Chem. III. vi. 373 The tallow is melted by injecting hot steam into the vat which contains it, and milk of lime is added... An insoluble *lime soap is thus formed. 1884 [see soap n. 2]. 1918 C. M. Whittaker Applic. Coal Tar Dyestuffs iii. 36 Lime soaps may be removed by treatment with spirits of salts. 1952 Kirk & Othmer Encycl. Chem. Technol. VIII. 524 The use of lime-soap thickened lubricants for the wheels of chariots dates back as far as 1400 b.c... In modern times, however, the manufacture of lubricating greases—also by means of lime soaps—started about 1854. 1961 Cohen & Linton Chem. & Textiles for Laundry Industry iii. 46 Pure lime soap is more or less white when it is formed... If we accept a laundryman's concept of lime soap, on the other hand, we are talking about a dingy, gray, boardy impregnation that builds up in fabrics and defies all efforts to attain good whiteness. |
| 1930 Engineering 15 Aug. 219/1 It [sc. the base exchange method] gives rise to no precipitate whatever, and this avoids what in the *lime-soda process is often a cause of difficulty. 1950 B. E. Hartsuch Introd. Textile Chem. iv. 92 The lime-soda method for softening water is the oldest and is still most used for very large softening plants. 1970 Kirk & Othmer Encycl. Chem. Technol. (ed. 2) XXII. 98 The lime or lime-soda process is based upon precipitation of calcium as calcium carbonate and magnesium as magnesium hydroxide. |
| 1907 Bull. Bureau Chem., U.S. Dept. Agric. No. 101. 12 The next set of experiments was to determine the composition of *lime-sulphur mixtures boiled the same length of time.., but containing varying quantities of lime and sulphur. 1913 Jrnl. R. Hort. Soc. XXXIX. 378 It appears unsafe to spray many varieties of gooseberries with either lime-sulphur or liver of sulphur. 1937 A. M. Massee Pests of Fruits & Hops xiv. 266 In the post-blossom sprays..lime-sulphur is used as an acaricide as well as a fungicide, and it is then used at a strength of 1 per cent..for the control of the Fruit Tree Red Spider and Apple Scab. 1968 R. Hay Gardening Year 472/3 Lime sulphur can also be used against big bud mites on black currants, American gooseberry mildew and peach leaf curl. |
| 1541 Extracts Aberd. Reg. (1844) I. 176 Ane skep, ane schod schuill, with ane *lym tub. |
| 1823 J. Badcock Dom. Amusem. 168 Old Fruit Trees..may be restored..by the application of a good strong *lime-wash. 1847 Smeaton Builder's Man. 126 In using lime-wash, it is better to put two thin coats on a wall than one thick one. |
| 1869 E. A. Parkes Pract. Hygiene (ed. 3) 305 The walls and ceilings are ordered to be *lime⁓washed twice a-year. |
| 1777 Howard Prisons Eng. (1780) 359 It was scraped and *lime-whited once a year. |
| 1861 Eng. Wom. Dom. Mag. III. 221 The walls were *lime-whitened. |
| 1589 Rider Bibl. Scholast. 870 *Lime-worke, albarium opus, albarium. 1692 Lond. Gaz. No. 2819/1 Since the destroying of the Lime-Works by our Dragoons. 1808 J. Robertson Agric. Surv. Inverness i. 41 A lime-work belonging to Sir James Grant of Grant. 1971 Country Life 1 Apr. 743/3 We struck east across the A515..to re-cross the road farther north by a limeworks. |
| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. ix. 179 Leccherye in likyng is *lymeȝerde of helle. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 305/1 Lyme ȝerde, viminarium, viscarium. |
b. In names of minerals, denoting the presence of lime or calcium,
e.g. lime-marl,
-slate;
lime-epidote, zoisite;
lime-feldspar, triclinic feldspar containing calcium;
† lime-harmotome, phillipsite;
lime-malachite, an impure malachite containing calcite;
† lime-mesotype, scolecite;
† lime-uranite, autunite;
lime-wavellite, ‘a variety of wavellite, supposed to contain lime as an essential ingredient’ (A. H. Chester
Dict. Min. 1896).
| 1862 Dana Man. Geol. 56 Labradorite, or *lime-feldspar. 1896 Chester Names Min. 157 Lime-feldspar, a syn. of anorthite. |
| 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 772 This true limestone must not be confounded with the *lime-marl, composed of calcareous matter and clay. |
| 1811 Pinkerton Petral. II. 192 Saussure has minutely described a singular transition from granite to *limeslate. |
▪ II. lime, n.2 (
laɪm)
Also 7
lyme.
[a. F. lime = mod.Pr. limo, ad. Sp. lima, a. Arab. līma{suph}: see lemon.] 1. a. The globular fruit of the tree
Citrus Medica,
var. acida, smaller than the lemon and of a more acid taste; more explicitly
sour lime. Its juice is much used as a beverage.
sweet lime,
Citrus Medica,
var. Limetta.
| 1638 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (ed. 2) 28 The Ile [Mohelia] inricht us with many good things;..Orenges, Lemons, Lymes. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. (1729) I. 296 The Lime is a sort of bastard or Crab-limon. The Tree, or Bush that bears it, is prickly, like a Thorn, growing full of small boughs. 1727–46 Thomson Summer 664 To where the lemon and the piercing lime,..Their lighter glories blend. 1784 Cowper Task iii. 573 The ruddier orange and the paler lime. 1857 Henfrey Bot. 260 Citrus Limetta, the cultivated Sweet Lime. |
b. Applied with qualification to fruits of trees of other genera.
Ogeechee lime, the sour tupelo,
Nyssa capitata, of which a conserve is made.
wild lime,
Atalantia monophylla (
Treas. Bot. 1866),
Xanthoxylum Pterota (
Cent. Dict. 1890), and (in Jamaica)
Rheedia lateriflora (Fawcett in
Bulletin Bot. Dept. Jamaica, 1896); also, in Australia,
= kumquat 2.
| 1767 P. Collinson Let. 31 July in W. Darlington Mem. J. Bartram & H. Marshall (1849) 292 The Wild Lime..is a singular plant. 1832 D. J. Browne Sylva Amer. 221 In Georgia this tree is known by the name of Sour Tupelo and Wild Lime. 1863 R. Henning Let. 26 Nov. (1966) 147 We went out to pick some wild limes for preserving. They are a little fruit about the size of a large gooseberry, but in colour, taste, smell and shape exactly like a small lemon. 1965 [see kumquat 2]. 1969 T. H. Everett Living Trees of World xxi. 209/1 The wild-lime (Zanthoxylum fagara) of Florida, Mexico, the West Indies..is an evergreen species. |
c. ellipt. for
lime-green n. and
adj. (
lime n.2 2); also for
lime-juice, as in
phr. gin and lime.
| 1923 Daily Mail 19 Feb. 1 (Advt.), Smart skirt... Colours: navy,..gold, lime, cardinal and black. 1937 Discovery July 217/2 Dresses are burgundy, pine-blue, lime. 1938 L. MacNeice Earth Compels 23 A gin and lime or a double Scotch. 1972 Vogue Jan. 12/2 The colours..are remarkable—lime and raspberry, lemon, orange, rose. |
2. attrib. and
Comb., as
lime-green n. and
adj.,
lime-tree;
lime-marmalade, marmalade made from limes;
lime-myrtle, the West-Indian name for
Triphasia trifoliata (Grisebach
Flora Brit. W. Indies, 1864);
lime-plant, the May-apple,
Podophyllum peltatum;
lime-punch, punch made with lime-juice instead of lemon-juice;
lime-squash, a drink made with the juice of the lime (
cf. lemon-squash). Also
lime-juice.
| 1890 Daily News 14 July 3/4 The scene was gay with white gowns, pale heliotrope, citron, *lime-green. |
| c 1938 Fortnum & Mason Price List 44/1 Marmalade..*Lime—per glass 1/3. 1968 ‘J. Fraser’ Evergreen Death x. 80 He did like that lime marmalade they used to get. 1972 New Statesman 26 May 709/1 Coffee, bread and lime-marmalade. |
| 1844 C. Johnson Farmer's Encycl. (Worc.), *Lime-plant, the May-apple, or wild mandrake; Podophyllum peltatum. |
| 1774 P. V. Fithian Jrnl. (1900) 206 We had after Dinner, *Lime Punch and Madaira. 1834 Tait's Mag. I. 299/2, ‘I dine with a turtle-party at Bleaden's’. ‘Nothing like Bleaden's lime-punch, Sir Jacob, eh?’ |
| 1909 Daily Chron. 15 June 4/4 For drinking, *lime-squash is superior to lemon squash. 1939–40 Army & Navy Stores Catal. 28/2 Lime squash. |
| 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. viii. 216 We found there abundance of cassia, and a few *lime-trees. |
▪ III. lime, n.3 (
laɪm)
Also 8
lyme.
[App. an altered form of line lind.] 1. A tree of the genus
Tilia (family Tiliaceæ),
esp. T. europæa, a common ornamental tree having heart-shaped leaves and many small fragrant yellowish flowers; the linden.
red lime,
T. grandifolia Ehrhart.
| 1625, 1649, 1667 [see 3]. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 209 His Limes were first in Flow'rs. 1704 Pope Autumn 25 The lymes their pleasing shades deny. a 1705 Ray Synopsis Plant. Angl. (1724) 473 Tilia foliis molliter hirsutis, viminibus rubris... 'Tis known by the name of the Red Lime, and grows naturally in Stoken-church Wood. 1711 Swift Jrnl. to Stella 27 Aug., It is autumn this good while in St. James's Park; the limes have been losing their leaves. 1784 Cowper Task i. 316 The lime at dewy eve Diffusing odours. 1842 Penny Cycl. XXIV. 447/1 T[ilia] rubra, Red Lime... The young branches are of a beautiful coral-red colour, thence it has been called T. corallina. 1849 Aytoun Buried Flower 176 Ere the bees had ceased to murmur Through the umbrage of the lime. 1861 Delamer Fl. Gard. 10 The Lime is a good town tree, leafing early in spring, and perfuming the air with its blossoms in August. |
2. The seed of the lime-tree.
| 1747 H. Glasse Cookery (1767) 269 To pickle stertion⁓buds and limes; you pick them off the lime-trees in the summer. Take new stertion-seeds or limes, pickle them when large. |
3. attrib. and
Comb., as
lime-avenue,
lime-bark,
lime-flower,
lime-gall,
lime-grove,
lime-tree,
lime-walk,
lime-wood;
lime bug, an insect that infests lime-trees;
lime hawk-moth,
Smerinthus tiliæ, whose larva feeds on the lime (1869 E. Newman
Brit. Moths 5).
| 1899 J. W. Mackail Life W. Morris II. 348 Up the short *lime-avenue to the tiny church. |
| 1894 Gladstone Horace's Odes i. xxxviii. 2 The wreaths with *limebark bound. |
| 1832 Planting vi. 72 (L.U.K.) Coccus tiliæ, *lime bug. |
| 1888 Syd. Soc. Lex., *Lime flower oil, a colourless or yellowish volatile oil obtained by distillation from the flowers of Tilia europæa and other species. |
| 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp., *Lime galls,..a sort of galls or vegetable protuberances, formed on the edges of the leaves of the lime tree in spring time. |
| 1667 Dryden & Davenant Tempest iii. iii, In the *lime-grove, which weather-fends your cell. |
| 1798 Nemnich Polyglotten-Lex. v. 817 *Lime hawk moth, Sphinx tiliae. |
| 1625 Bacon Ess., Gardens (Arb.) 558 The Flowers of the *Lime Tree. 1649 W. Blithe Eng. Improv. Impr. (1653) 172 The Lime Tree is also newly discovered as useful in our English plantations. 1797 Coleridge ‘This lime-tree bower’ 2 Here must I remain, This lime-tree bower my prison! |
| c 1662 T. Browne Let. in Works (1931) VI. 307 Uncertain it is whether in any Tilicetum, or *Lime-walk, abroad it be considerably exceeded. 1816 Jane Austen Emma III. vi. 103 Some are gone to the ponds, and some to the lime walk. 1860 Murray's Berks, Bucks & Oxon 172/2 There is a pleasant garden attached to Trinity, with a trellised lime⁓walk of great celebrity. |
| 1731 Lunenburg (Mass.) Proprietors' Rec. (1897) 209 It begins at a red oak and runs east..to a *Limewood. 1832 Tennyson Miller's Dau. 211 Poems (1833) 45 When in the breezy limewood-shade, I found the blue forget-me-not. 1885 F. Miller Wood-Carving iv. 27 Lime-wood was almost exclusively used by Gibbons in his drops and festoons of fruit. 1932 O. Evan-Thomas Domestic Utensils of Wood 118 Chrism spoon, limewood, entirely carved with sacred objects. 1965 J. Aronson Encycl. Furnit. (1966) 285/1 Limewood, light-colored, close-grained wood that cuts as well across as with the grain, rendering it excellent for carving. |
▪ IV. † lime, n.4 Obs. rare—1.
In 5
lyme.
[? ad. L. līmes limit.] Limit, end.
| c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 109 And þus Englonde toke first his name In þe gode kyng Egbertys tyme, Ryȝt as we clepe ȝet þe same And herrafter shulde w{supt}-ouȝte lyme. |
▪ V. lime, n.5 (
laɪm)
Colloq. abbrev. of
limelight. Freq. in
pl. Also (in
sing.)
attrib. Phr.
in the lime (
Austral.), in the limelight.
| 1892 J. Nie Robinson Crusoe 6 Here! Where's the limelight man? Of course, used up all his limes for Crusoe. 1895 B. Daly in Chevalier & Daly A. Chevalier ii. 248 The footlights are turned low, and the hissing noise behind explains that Sam Pennett, the carpenter, is getting his limes ready for use. 1931 Daily Express 22 Sept. 17/1 She..used to keep in her shop a working model of a theatre, complete to the last ‘lime’ and ‘float’. 1935 Ridge & Aldred Stage Lighting iii. 18/2 Producers will frequently ask for the ‘limes’ when they mean front-of-house arc lanterns. 1941 Baker Dict. Austral. Slang 43, Lime, in the, in the limelight. 1958 B. Nichols Sweet & Twenties xiii. 177 There was one figure which the limes should have picked out. 1961 Partridge Dict. Slang Suppl. 1169/2 Lime, in the, popular; much publicised: Australian... I.e. ‘in the limelight’. 1966 Guardian 18 Feb. 10/5 At 16 he was a lime boy, looking after the lights. |
▪ VI. lime, v.1 (
laɪm)
Also 4–7
lyme, 5
lymyn;
pa. pple. 3
i-limed, 4
ylymed.
[f. lime n.1; OE. *l{iacu}mian seems to be implied by the vbl. n. l{iacu}ming.] 1. trans. To cement. Chiefly
fig.| a 1225 [see lime n.1 2]. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 1792 Ant te hali gast, hare beire luue, þe lihteð of ham baðe, & limeð togederes, swa þæt nan ne mei sundrin from oðere. 1593 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, v. i. 84, I will not ruinate my Fathers House, Who gaue his blood to lyme the stones together. a 1617 Bayne Lect. (1634) 302 The wicked confidence where⁓with our hearts are limed to the creature. 1855 Bailey Mystic 115 That cruel tower..Of living souls impacted, limed with blood. |
2. a. To smear (twigs or the like) with bird-lime, for the purpose of catching birds. Also
allusively.
| 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) iii. v. 54 Ye haue had handes lymed euer redy for to catche. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 305/2 Lymyn wythe bryd lyme, visco. 1547 Boorde Introd. Knowl. ii. (1870) 126 My fyngers be lymed lyke a lyme twyg [sc. in order to pilfer]. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, i. iii. 91 My selfe haue lym'd a Bush for her. 1692 R. L'Estrange Fables ccclxxix. 350 Those Twigs in time will come to be Lim'd, and then you're all Lost if you do but touch 'em. 1816 Scott Antiquary xlii, But he would have found twigs limed for him at Edinburgh. |
b. To smear with a sticky substance.
rare.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 562 Ðat arche was a feteles good, set and limed a-gen ðe flood. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 39 b/1 Make ther dyverse places and lyme it with cleye and pitche within and without. 1814 Cary Dante, Inf. xxi. 18 A glutinous thick mass, that round Lim'd all the shore beneath. |
3. To catch with birdlime. Often
fig.| 13.. K. Alis. 5701 Hy maden her armes envenymed; He that was take of deth was lymed. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus i. 353 Loue he gan hyse federis so to lyme. c 1386 ― Wife's T. 78 A man shal winne us best with flaterye, And with attendance and with bisynesse Been we ylymed bothe moore and lesse. c 1440 J. Capgrave Life St. Kath. v. 115 His demonstracyons coude vs not trappe ne lyme. 1575 Churchyard Chippes (1817) 193 When birde is limde, farewell faire feathers all. 1593 Shakes. Lucr. 88. ? c 1600 Distracted Emp. v. i. in Bullen O. Pl. III. 240 Am I then noosd!..am I lymed! 1680 Crowne Misery Civ. War v. 70 The bird that sees the bush where once itself Was lim'd. 1791 E. Darwin Bot. Gard. i. 74 Fine as the spider's flimsy thread he wove The immortal toil to lime illicit love. 1806–7 J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) xi. xxxi, The buzz of a struggling insect who has limed himself in your ear. a 1822 Shelley Ess., Def. Poetry (1840) I. 39 Lucretius had limed the wings of his swift spirit in the dregs of the sensible world. 1868 Browning Ring & Bk. v. 364 Vittiano—one limes flocks of thrushes there. 1870 M. Bridgman Rob. Lynne II. iii. 64 He was..limed this time [matrimonially]. |
† 4. To foul, defile.
Obs.| 1390 Gower Conf. I. 179 For who so wole his handes lime, Thei mosten be the more unclene. c 1450 Cov. Myst. (Shaks. Soc.) 63 Off handys and dede be trewe evyrmore, ffor yf thin handys lymyd be, Thou art but shent. 1549 Chaloner Erasm. on Folly D j, No witte maie be founde not lymed with some great vices. 1592 G. Harvey Pierce's Super. (1593) 37 Who is not limed with some default. |
5. To treat or dress with lime.
† a. To put lime into (wine). In
quot. absol. (
Cf. lime n.1 3,
quots. 1596, 1622.)
Obs.| 1598 Shakes. Merry W. i. iii. 15 (Qo. 1602) Host... Let me see thee froth, and lyme [Fo. liue]. |
b. To dress (land, etc.) with lime. Also
absol. Also to give (wood) a bleached effect by treating it with lime.
Cf. limed ppl. a. 2 b.
| 1649 W. Blithe Eng. Improv. Impr. (1653) 135 About twelve or fourteen quarters of Lime will very wel Lime an Acre, you may also over-Lime it, as well as under-Lime it. 1674–91 Ray Collect. Words (E.D.S.) 15 The most effectual way to prevent smutting or burning of any corn, is to lime it before you sow it. a 1698 W. Blundell Cavalier's Note-bk. (1880) 87 Sir Roger Bradshaigh limed the hall croft with lime from Clitheroe. 1757 E. Griffith Lett. Henry & Frances (1767) I. 158 Sixty-three acres of corn,..all limed, at eighty barrels to an acre. 1765 Museum Rust. IV. 245 Where I limed, there seems now a pretty deal of grass. 1796 J. Adams Diary 27 July, Wks. 1851 III. 421 Making and liming a heap of manure. 1799 J. Robertson Agric. Perth 266 Then lime and sow with oats. 1880 Daily News 10 Dec. 5/8 The farmer has expended not less than {pstlg}6000 in building, and in draining, and liming four hundred acres. 1966 M. M. Pegler Dict. Interior Design (1967) 266 Woods other than oak can be limed. |
† c. To smear or coat with lime-wash.
Obs. (Also white-lime.)
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 305/2 Lyme wythe lyme, idem quod whyton wythe lyme. 1530 Palsgr. 611/2, I lyme a wall, or rofe with whyte lyme to make it whyte. 1574 Ludlow Churchw. Acc. (Camden) 161 For lymynge over the vestrye. 1591 Lodge Catharos (1875) 30 Thou tylest thy house against stormes and lymest it well. 1615 Crooke Body of Man 387 Houses newly limed. |
d. To steep (skins) in lime and water.
| 1688–1844 [cf. liming vbl. n.1 2 c]. 1707 Rhode Island Col. Rec. (1859) IV. 7 Leather, which shall be insufficiently tanned, or which hath been over-limed or burnt in lime. 1903 L. A. Flemming Pract. Tanning 6 The length of time to thoroughly lime the skins depends on the thickness of the skins. Ibid. 7 The best results accrue when only skins of like nature and size are limed..together. 1925 J. R. Arnold Hides & Skins 553 Hides and skins which are prepared for dehairing by sweating or painting..are also limed. |
e. (See
quot.)
| 1891 Lancet 3 Oct. 783 The sludge..is limed—that is, a small quantity of lime is added to it so as to facilitate the operation of pressing. |
▪ VII. † lime, v.2 Obs. rare—0.
In 7
limme.
[a. F. lime-r (13th c. in Littré):—L. līmāre (see limate).] trans. To file, polish.
Some Dicts. cite a supposed example from Chaucer
H. Fame 1124, ‘A lymed glas’; but the true reading is ‘Alym-de-glas’
= F.
alun de glace, crystallized alum.
| 1613 R. C[awdrey] Table Alph. (ed. 3), Limme, pollish, amend. |
▪ VIII. † lime, v.3 Obs. [Of obscure origin; cf. the synonymous line v.3] trans. To impregnate (a bitch). Also
pass. and intr., to copulate
with, to be coupled
to.
| 1555 W. Watreman Fardle Facions App. 317 Yf anye manne require eyther thy dogge for the folde, or for the chace to lime his bitche. 1579–80 North Plutarch, Lycurgus (1595) 54 They caused their bitches..to bee limed..with fayrest dogges. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 370 A Mastive Dog was limed to a she Wolf. 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 130 Why earthworms are limed so much to the headward. 1682 Roxb. Ballads IV. 281/71 But France is for thy Lust too kind a Clime, In Africk with some Wolf or Tyger lime. |
▪ IX. lime, v.4 see
limer3.
▪ X. lime obs. f. or
var. leam n.1,
limb n.1,
lyam.