LITMUSES

Noun

litmuses

plural of litmus

Source: Wiktionary


LITMUS

Lit"mus, n. Etym: [D. lakmoes; lak lacker + moes a thick preparation of fruit, pap, prob. akin to E. meat: cf. G. lackmus. See Lac a resinous substance.] (Chem.)

Definition: A dyestuff extracted from certain lichens (Roccella tinctoria, Lecanora tartarea, etc.), as a blue amorphous mass which consists of a compound of the alkaline carbonates with certain coloring matters related to orcin and orcein.

Note: Litmus is used as a dye, and being turned red by acids and restored to its blue color by alkalies, is a common indicator or test for acidity and alkalinity. Litmus paper (Chem.), unsized paper saturated with blue or red litmus, -- used in testing for acids or alkalies.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

7 January 2025

UNINFORMATIVELY

(adverb) in an uninformative manner; “‘I can’t tell you when the manager will arrive,’ he said rather uninformatively”


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Coffee Trivia

The earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking as the modern beverage appeared in modern-day Yemen. In the middle of the 15th century in Sufi shrines where coffee seeds were first roasted and brewed for drinking. The Yemenis procured the coffee beans from the Ethiopian Highlands.

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