cudbear
(ˈkʌdbɛə(r))
Also 8 cut-.
[A name devised from his own Christian name by Dr. Cuthbert Gordon (who obtained a patent for this powder).]
1. A purple or violet powder, used for dyeing, prepared from various species of lichens, esp. Lecanora tartarea.
| 1771 Phil. Trans. LXI. 129 Dutch litmus, orchel, cudbear..dye silk and wool of a yellow colour. 1794 Statist. Acc. Scot. XII. 113 The cudbear manufacture carried on here was begun in 1777. 1870 J. W. Slater Manual of Colours 61 Cudbear is used for dyeing ruby and maroon shades, as well as a variety of browns. |
2. The lichen Lecanora tartarea.
| 1766 Ann. Reg. 117 Gathering Scotch Cutbear. 1861 H. Macmillan Footnotes fr. Nature 116 The most useful and best known of our native dye-lichens is the rock-moss or cudbear (Lecanora tartarea). |