lye

[ lahy ]

/ laɪ /

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noun Chemistry.

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

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

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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

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH lye

lie, lye

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use lye in a sentence

That's two lyes, Speak suddenly, for I am full of business.Din.
The Little French Lawyer|Francis Beaumont
But I quickly found sufficient Cause to suspect him very guilty, by the many lyes and Contradictions he told me.
Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period|Various
Strong caustic alkaline lyes are also filtered through powdered glass or sand.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I|Arnold Cooley
Weak alkaline lyes may be filtered through fine calico, stretched across the mouth of a funnel.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I|Arnold Cooley

The immersion of the hands in alkaline lyes, or strongly acidulated water, has a like effect.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I|Arnold Cooley

British Dictionary definitions for lye

lye

/ (laɪ) /

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

Scientific definitions for lye

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.