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.

---

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

---

Etymology

Origin of orchil

Borrowed into English from Old French around 1475–85

Example Sentences

Much orchil was formerly gathered, and there is good pasturage for the numerous herds of cattle.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 3 "Capefigue" to "Carneades" by Various

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

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

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.

The purple vegetable dyestuff orchil belongs to this class.

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