lye

[lahy]

noun Chemistry.

a highly concentrated, aqueous solution of potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide.

any solution resulting from leaching, percolation, or the like.

Origin of lye

before 900; Middle English lie, ley, Old English lēag; cognate with Dutch loog, German Lauge lye, Old Norse laug warm bath. See lave¹

Can be confusedlie lye

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for lye

Contemporary Examples of lye

Another discusses being bathed by her grandmother as a child with lye soap in an effort to lighten her complexion.
Beyonce and the Myth of Black Beauty
Allison Samuels
March 2, 2012

Historical Examples of lye

When it is full, we pour the water in it, and catch the lye as it drips out.
In the Midst of Alarms
Robert Barr
Turn them frequently while in the lye, and wipe them dry afterwards.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie
Colours dyed in this way become fixed, and no soap or lye will ever wash them out.
The Republic
Plato
The strong bases, like lye and caustic soda, are also called alkalies.
Common Science
Carleton W. Washburne
In the same way you were warned to have vinegar near at hand while you worked with lye.
Common Science
Carleton W. Washburne

British Dictionary definitions for lye

lye

noun

any solution obtained by leaching, such as the caustic solution obtained by leaching wood ash

a concentrated solution of sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide

Word Origin for lye

Old English lēag; related to Middle Dutch lōghe, Old Norse laug bath, Latin lavāre to wash

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

Word Origin and History for lye

Old English læg, leag "lye," from Proto-Germanic *laugo (cf. Middle Dutch loghe, Dutch loog, Old High German louga, German Lauge "lye"), from PIE root *leue- "to wash" (see lave). The substance was formerly used in place of soap, hence Old High German luhhen "to wash," Old Norse laug "hot bath, hot spring," Danish lørdag, Swedish lördag "Saturday," literally "washing-day." Chamber-lye in early Modern English was the name for urine used as a detergent.

lye in Science

lye

[lī]

A strong alkaline solution or solid of potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide, made by allowing water to wash through wood ashes. It is used to make soap and drain and oven cleaners. Chemical formula: KOH or NaOH.