orchil

American  

[awr-kil, -chil] / ˈɔr kɪl, -tʃɪl /

noun

1. a violet coloring matter obtained from certain lichens, chiefly species of Roccella.

2. any lichen yielding this dye.

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orchil British  

/ -tʃɪl, ˈɔːkɪl /

noun

1. any of various lichens, esp any of the genera Roccella, Dendrographa, and Lecanora

2. Also called: cudbear.  a purplish dye obtained by treating these lichens with aqueous ammonia: contains orcinol, orcein, and litmus

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Etymology

Origin of orchil

Borrowed into English from Old French around 1475–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

orchil

For instance, in Rocella tinctoria, which has, of all the dye-Lichens, been most frequently selected for analytical investigation, on account of its important product orchil, the discrepancies between the results obtained are very striking.

From The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c. by Simmonds, P. L.

A prize medal was awarded, in 1851, to an exhibitor from the Elbe for specimens of the weed, and an extract of red and violet orchil.

From The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c. by Simmonds, P. L.

Logwood violet is browned; that of orchil, if slightly reddish, is turned to a blue-violet; that of alkanet is modified to a fine blue.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 363, December 16, 1882 by Various

Turmeric, orchil, catechu, and indigo carmine are all extremely fugitive.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 810, July 11, 1891 by Various

The purple vegetable dyestuff orchil belongs to this class.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia Volume 4, Part 1: Deposition to Eberswalde by Various