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cudbear

American  
[kuhd-bair] / ˈkʌdˌbɛər /

noun

  1. a violet coloring matter obtained from various lichens, especially Lecanora tartarea.


cudbear British  
/ ˈkʌdˌbɛə /

noun

  1. another name for orchil

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of cudbear

First recorded in 1760–70; coinage by Dr. Cuthbert Gordon, 18th-century Scottish chemist, based on his own name

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The lichens thus treated acquire gradually a deep purple colour, and form the products called "cudbear."

From Project Gutenberg

Various species of Lecanora, particularly L. tartarea, known as cudbear, are used in dyeing woollen yarn.

From Project Gutenberg

Purple:—For each pound of goods, two ounces of cudbear; rinse the goods well in soap-suds, then dissolve cudbear in hot suds—not quite boiling, and soak the goods until of required color.

From Project Gutenberg

If a wine colored with archil and one colored with cudbear are treated treated according to Romei's method, the former gives, with basic lead acetate, a blue, and the latter a fine violet precipitate.

From Project Gutenberg

Specimens of varieties of the lichens used in the manufacture of cudbear, orchil and litmus, and of the substance obtained, were also shown in the British department, which were awarded prize medals.

From Project Gutenberg