orchil
Americannoun
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a violet coloring matter obtained from certain lichens, chiefly species of Roccella.
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any lichen yielding this dye.
noun
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any of various lichens, esp any of the genera Roccella, Dendrographa, and Lecanora
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Also called: cudbear. a purplish dye obtained by treating these lichens with aqueous ammonia: contains orcinol, orcein, and litmus
Etymology
Origin of orchil
Borrowed into English from Old French around 1475–85
Vocabulary lists containing orchil
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.
Withering asserts it yields a purple dye, paler, but more permanent, than orchil; which is prepared in Iceland by steeping in stale lye, adding a little salt and making it up into balls with lime.
From Vegetable Dyes Being a Book of Recipes and Other Information Useful to the Dyer by Ethel M. Mairet
It was about this time, too, that a Florentine named Rucellai rediscovered the method of making the purple dye orchil from certain lichens of Asia Minor.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 8 "Dubner" to "Dyeing" by Various
The principal natural product in this region is orchil, or Spanish moss, but by means of irrigation the soil produces a considerable variety of products, including sugar cane, cotton, cassava, cereals, tobacco and grapes.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 1 "Calhoun" to "Camoens" 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
It is dyed in orchil first, and then made bluer, and somewhat more secure, by being soused in a well-soaped alkaline mixture.
From The International Monthly, Volume 5, No. 4, April, 1852 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
